Harry managed to stand. The events that transpired mere moments ago replayed in his head. Voldemort was gone. His heart was still beating irregularly as he slowly made his way back up to the castle. I need to find Ron and Hermione. That was his first thought. He needed to find them; they needed to know that he was okay. He needed to tell them what had happened.
Harry took a deep breath before he entered the castle. There were cots lined all along the walls of the Entrance Hall, spilling into the Great Hall. So many had died, even more were injured. Madam Pomfrey rushed about from cot to cot, doing her best to help all of the wounded. Professors McGonagall, Sprout, Flitwick, Trelawney, and Slughorn were busy comforting students and assisting Madam Pomfrey. Harry tried not to attract attention but Slughorn seemed to notice him at once.
"Harry!" He called loudly and everyone else in the Great Hall turned to see Harry standing there. All at once, it seemed, the Great Hall erupted into roars and cheers. They were safe. Voldemort was gone. Harry didn't smile, his eyes searched desperately for Ron and Hermione. He didn't want to be there. He knew Tonks and Remus' cold, lifeless bodies lay just a few feet from where he was standing. Although he didn't look, he knew Fred lay dead, six cots down from Colin Creevey. Everyone thundered toward him at once, wrapping their arms around him and shouting joyously. The noise was deafening. Harry felt a bit like a rag doll in the crowd as people seized onto him and pulled him this way and that. It seemed everyone was determined to hug or at least touch some part of The Boy Who Lived on that momentous occasion. They thought of him as their leader, he was the reason it was all over.
Harry recognized some of the faces in the crowd, those that were up at the front: Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Neville, Seamus, Dean, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Kingsley, Professor McGonagall, Hagrid, and even Professor Sprout though there were hundreds more. Ron was noticeably absent. Harry glanced at Hermione in question but her eyes wouldn't quite meet his. Harry managed to get away, with some help from Hagrid, after about half an hour had passed.
"Fred, Tonks, Remus, Colin Creevey, and fifty others died fighting him." Kingsley said, answering Harry's unspoken question. Harry sat down beside Kingsley as he continued "There is news that the Imperiused all over the nation have come back to normal. The Death Eaters have fled, some have been captured and the others are being tracked down as we speak. The innocents in Azkaban are currently being released as well." Kingsley said.
"But how? Who is making all of this happen? The Minister is dead and we haven't had elections yet." Harry said.
"I have been named the interim Minister of Magic." Kingsley said humbly.
Harry managed a small smile "I hope it's more than just temporary, congratulations." Harry shook Kingsley's hand.
Professor McGonagall had replaced all of the House tables and yet everyone had chosen to stay jumbled together, giving no thought to who was in what House. Ravenclaws, Gryffindors, and Hufflepuffs were all sitting together. Harry made his rounds around the Great Hall. He spoke to those that had lost loved ones and visited with the injured. He felt a bit useless really; he knew nothing he said would bring back the dead or take away their pain. It wasn't the first time that night that he felt a pang of guilt.
Harry couldn't bear to face Mr. and Mrs. Weasley again. They had embraced him and told him that they were proud of him, immediately after Voldemort's defeat. Harry wished they would have yelled at him, jinxed him, cursed him, anything but react the way they did. It was his fault that Fred was dead and yet they acted like he wasn't to blame.
Harry entered a small classroom that he knew Remus and Tonks had been moved in to. He sunk to his knees beside Remus and could feel his eyes sting with unshed tears. Remus's hand lay inches away from Tonks'. "I'm sorry." Harry whispered into the darkness. His guilt worsened when he thought of little Teddy, who would never see his parents again. He would be raised as an orphan because of Harry. Harry put Tonks' hand in Remus's before leaving the room. He swallowed the lump in his throat. He didn't think he was capable of seeing Fred yet or facing George.
Harry reentered the Great Hall. Exhausted and drained, he sat down beside Luna; the one person he knew would sit with him in complete silence, comfortably. Luna put her cool hand on Harry's and squeezed it gently in solidarity but said nothing and Harry was grateful. Unfortunately, Harry's moment of peace didn't last long. A crowd of admirers made their way toward him. "I'll distract them." Luna said in a whisper and once again Harry felt a rush of appreciation for her.
"Ooohh! Look! A Blibbering Humdinger!" Luna cried as she pointed out the window. Harry heard murmurs of confusion as everyone who heard her turned in the direction she was pointing. People craned their necks curiously, all trying to get a glimpse of the mysterious creature. Harry wasted no time; he ducked under his Invisibility Cloak, disappearing completely and instantly felt the weight of responsibility being lifted off his shoulders. By the time the crowd turned back to where Harry had stood before, he was gone.
As Harry made his way out of the Great Hall he could see Ginny, two tables away, with her head resting on Mrs. Weasley's shoulder. He couldn't help but smile when he saw Neville sitting at the Gryffindor table. Neville was eating, the sword of Gryffindor lying beside him next to his plate. Neville was surrounded by a knot of his own fervent admirers. Harry's happiness dissipated as soon as it came, when his mind focused again on all of the deaths. He passed Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco on his way out of the Hall. They were huddled together, with Kingsley keeping a close eye on them. Harry was still wondering where Ron had gotten off to. He hadn't seen Ron since he had told him and Hermione that he was going into the Forbidden Forest to give himself up.
Thankfully, Harry managed to find Hermione as he walked into the Entrance Hall. Harry reached out and grabbed her arm; Hermione very nearly screamed. "Harry! Don't do that!" she said, some of the color returning to her face. Harry threw the Invisibility Cloak over her, concealing both of them.
"Where's Ron?" Harry asked in a hushed voice as he led Hermione up the marble staircase. There were chunks missing from the staircase, part of the balustrade was gone, and there was rubble crunching underfoot with every step. Bloodstains occurred with every few steps that they climbed and they could hear Peeves singing loudly "We did it! We bashed them, wee Potter's the one! And Voldy's gone moldy, so now let's have fun!" He cackled as he zoomed past them, showering everything in confetti.
"He was with George and…Fred, when I last saw him." Hermione looked disturbed. "He hasn't said a word; he's been sitting there for hours. Mrs. Weasley tried to get him to eat but he refused. He won't sleep or talk to anyone."
Harry felt another pang of guilt and that combined with the pain of losing Fred, Remus, and Tonks was absolutely unbearable. It pierced Harry like a physical wound every few steps and all he wanted to do was sleep, he knew however, that he owed Hermione an explanation. She had stuck with him through everything and she deserved the truth. Harry painstakingly recounted everything to Hermione who listened attentively. He told her what he had seen in the Pensieve and he told her what had happened in the forest.
Harry and Hermione stopped in front of the stone gargoyle guarding the headmistress' study, sometime later. The gargoyle had been knocked aside and looked worse for wear. When they asked if they could go up, it simply groaned in assent, not even bothering to ask for a password.
Harry stepped over the gargoyle and onto the spiral stone staircase that led up to what was now Headmistress McGonagall's office. He offered his hand to Hermione, to help her over the rubble littering the floor. The staircase began moving like an escalator and, when they reached the top, Harry pushed the door to the study open.
There was an earsplitting noise from inside the study, startling both Harry and Hermione. He whipped out the Elder Wand, searching for Death Eaters but instead saw that the noise was coming from the walls which were covered with portraits of previous headmasters and headmistresses. They were applauding loudly and giving him a standing ovation. They waved their hats and in some cases their wigs, they reached through their frames to grip each other's hands, and they danced up and down on the chairs in which they had been painted.
Hermione lowered her hands from her ears and glanced at Harry who had long since lowered the Elder Wand. He was looking at the largest portrait, directly behind the Headmistress' chair, where Professor Dumbledore was staring back at him. Tears were sliding down from behind Dumbledore's half-moon spectacles into his long silver beard, and both Harry and Hermione could feel the pride and gratitude emanating from him.
At last, Harry held up his hands and the portraits fell respectfully silent, beaming and mopping their eyes and waiting eagerly for him to speak but when he finally did they looked more than a little confused.
"The thing that was hidden in the Snitch, I dropped it in the forest, I don't know exactly where but I'm not going to go looking for it again. Do you agree?" Harry asked Dumbledore.
"My dear boy, I do." Dumbledore said. The headmasters and headmistresses on the walls exchanged curious glances. "A wise and courageous decision but no less than I would have expected of you. Does anyone else know where it fell?"
"No one." Said Harry and Dumbledore nodded his satisfaction. "I'm going to keep Ignotus's present though."
Dumbledore beamed and said "But of course Harry, it is yours forever, until you pass it on."
"And then there's this." Harry said as he held up the Elder Wand. "I don't want it. I know it's powerful but I was happier with mine." Harry rummaged around in the pouch hung around his neck and pulled out the two halves of holly still just connected by the finest thread of phoenix feather. Harry knew that if this didn't work then nothing would and as Hermione watched skeptically, he laid the broken wand upon the Headmaster's desk. He touched his wand with the very tip of the Elder Wand and said "Reparo." Harry's wand resealed itself and red sparks flew out of its end. Hermione knew he had succeeded. Harry picked up his wand and felt a sudden warmth in his fingers, as though wand and hand were rejoicing at their reunion.
"I'm putting the Elder Wand back where it came from. It can stay there. If I die a natural death like Ignotus, its power will be broken won't it? The previous master will never have been defeated, that'll be the end of it."
Dumbledore nodded and they both smiled at each other. Harry glanced at Hermione and she nodded, accepting his decision as the right thing to do.
As they left the study, Hermione said "Off to bed with you, you look about ready to drop."
"I'll just walk you downst-" Harry began but Hermione interrupted him.
"Harry, I'm perfectly capable of walking myself. Go rest." Hermione then gave Harry a gentle push in the direction of the stairs. "I'll see you in the morning."
Harry nodded but before he climbed the stairs he turned back toward his friend and pulled her into a warm embrace. Hermione returned the hug and they stood that way for a few seconds. Being there, together, it felt good. In that moment they had no worries. Harry pulled back and smiled at her "I'll see you in the morning." He then headed up to the seventh floor and made a beeline for the Gryffindor common room.
Harry entered the dormitory and made his way past Neville's bed and to his own four-poster bed. He removed his glasses before collapsing on the bed, not even bothering to change. Within minutes, he was asleep.