A/N Ok, so this is my very first FanFic, and for some mad reason I've started with multi-chap – don't ask, I don't know why. Basically the war has ended, and everyone's going back to Hogwarts for 8th (having one giant 7th year makes no sense- why would the teachers do that? It always bugs me). It's a bit non-cannon because a lot of the characters that died at the end of Deathly Hallows, are still alive – Fred, Dobby, Snape, Loin, Tonks, Hedwig etc. – the bad guys and Dumbledore are still gone though. I might not mention them, but they are there. Now I think I've wittered on enough, so on with the story.
The Aftermath
Chapter 1 – 1st September
HPDMHPDM Harry's POV HPDMHPDM
Harry rolled over in bed and stared at the bright orange Chudley cannon poster adorning the wall opposite him. Early morning light flooded in through the flimsy curtains covering the window behind him, spilling into the room. Ron's gentle snores continued as Harry blindly felt around for his glasses before locating his watch. 7.30. Well it could be worse- early enough that no one else in the Burrow would be up, but too late to bother trying to return to sleep. Stifling a groan Harry rolled out of bed and silently padded out of the room he had been sharing with Ron since the end of the war.
Harry manoeuvred out of the house, collecting a pair of shoes and a jacket whilst simultaneously navigating merchandise left around the place by Fred and George from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, avoiding the junk abandoned throughout the living room- apparently purposefully left there to trip him up- and not waking up the sleeping members of the household, including Errol, Pigwidgeon, Hedwig and the ghoul.
Eventually he reached the back door and entered the ram-shackle garden, complete with chicken hut, broom shed and multiple garden gnomes, despite the vigorous de-gnoming which he, Ron, the twins and Ginny had gone through two days previously. Harry let out a peaceful sigh and went to sit under the old apple tree, avoiding the shade in an attempt to get the sickly rays of morning sunshine warm him. Wrapping his jacket tightly around himself Harry decided it was hardly worth the effort as the light did little to chase away the chill hanging in the air. He closed his eyes and lent back into the bark of the tree, enjoying the peaceful silence one last time before their return to Hogwarts later that day. Back to the fame, the whispers, the stares. Back to people asking him if he really was The Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived Twice, the Saviour of the Wizarding World, the man who actually killed Voldermort. Back to endless classes and homework, and studying in the library. Back to his friends, back to Quidditch, but most importantly back Home. As this last thought passed through his head Harry smiled- it had been over a year since he had officially attended Hogwarts and he missed it.
Harry opened his eyes as he heard voices coming form inside, rousing him from his thoughts; people were awake. Stretching as he stood Harry returned to the kitchen and was greeted by the sight of Mrs. Weasley cooking breakfast for the family. Ginny was in the living room sitting across from Fred and George, chipping in on their conversation- whether or not they should create a new range of Canary Creams. At that moment Ron came down the stairs, with Percy close on his heels. After exchanging the customary morning greetings everyone sat around the table to eat breakfast. Five or so minutes later Mr. Weasley appeared sown the stairs complete with a detached plug and screwdriver in-hand, setting them down before joining them.
After the meal was over Mr. Weasley and Percy left for their work, disapparating after saying their goodbyes to Ron, Ginny and Harry, as they wouldn't be seeing them until Christmas. Fred and George also stood, hugging their family before flooing to their joke shop in Diagon Alley. Mere seconds later Hermione appeared in the front garden, her Hogwarts trunk next to her. She hugged Harry and Ginny and kissed her boyfriend on the cheek. Leaving her trunk next to the front door they all wandered upstairs gathering in Ron and Harry's room so the four of them could catch up on the last couple of weeks.
Harry was careful not to sit next to Ginny; despite the end of the war more than two months ago, and almost everything else in his life returning to normal- well as normal as life could ever be for him- for some reason the two of them hadn't got back together. Harry couldn't understand it, he really couldn't; Ginny was great, she was funny, she was pretty, she was easy to talk and they were on the same wave-length about most things, but something just wasn't Right anymore. The light, the spark between them had gone, dimmed into non-existence, with no explanation for it's absence.
Harry saw Hermione and Ron share a side-ways glance as they noticed him sit at the opposite and of the bed from Ginny, but said nothing. Instead Ron, with surprising tact, started asking Hermione about her parents. After the war had ended Hermione had gone to Australia, refusing all help offered by the two boys, to track down her parents personas. She had successfully removed the memory charm she had placed on them before the Horcrux Hunt. They had returned to their old home in England and her parents had been re-instated at their old jobs. While they were unpleased, to say the least, that their only daughter had removed all their memories of her, they did understand that it had been necessary to keep everyone alive and safe, and were just glad to have her back.
This line of conversation continued for a while, branching off into various other topics such as who they thought would win the big Quidditch match next week, what '8th year', as it was being dubbed, would be like, and who out of their year mates would return- who would be in prison, who would stay in hiding and so on. His went on for an hour until Mrs. Weasley shouted upstairs that they would be leaving in half an hour. At this the two boys jumped and started scrabbling around the room collecting odds and ends they had yet to pack, while Ginny and Hermione both sat on Ron's bed leaning against the wall looking smug.
At 10.30 the three Weasleys, Harry and Hermione were gathered outside the Burrow preparing to apparate to a small alleyway a few minutes walk from Kings Cross Station. The four teenagers each had a trunk, and there own pet- Harry and Ron had Hedwig and pigwidgeon and Ginny had her pygmypuff sitting on her shoulder. Ginny took hold of her mother's hand- though she was now 17 and old enough to have a licence she obviously hadn't been able to learn to apparate the previous year- and the group disappeared with a loud crack.
Five minutes later they were standing on Platform 9¾ in front of the bright red Hogwarts Express, surrounded by crowds of people, pets and luggage. As they looked around for someone they recognised, Ginny spoted Luna's ash-blonde hair, and Neville standing next to her. The two groups met and while Neville's grandmother, Mr. Lovegood and Mrs. Weasley make easy small talk the friends discuss how their 'Summers' have been.
HPDMHPDM Draco's POV HPDMHPDM
Draco Malfoy stood silently in the group of chattering people. He held his ground, successfully attempting not to be washed away by the tide of people. He continued on through the people looking for someone, anyone, who would willingly talk to him now, after the war. He found no one. No one to talk to. He hadn't been expecting to find anyone; after the war was over his family had been left in disgrace- his Father sent to Azkaban, his Mother under house arrest. By some miracle he had escaped punishment; at his trial Potter of all people had spoken up for him, saying how he had had no choice in becoming a Death Eater, how he if he had had the choice would have let Dumbledore live, how he hadn't identified Harry or the rest of the Golden Trio when they had been brought to his house by Snatchers. It was Potter's word that had swayed the Jury, and without it he would most definitely be in Azkaban along with the rest of them. So now he owed the man again; he had saved his life a total of three times- once from the Fiend Fire, second from a Death Eater, and third from Prison – and he knew there was no way he could possibly pay him back, but he was sure as hell going to try.
Skirting round groups of people Draco made his way towards the train finding an empty compartment to sit in. Leaning back into his seat he stared out at all the happy people outside saying their goodbyes, surrounded by friends and family. Everyone started moving towards the train as the whistle blew, and Draco settled back, preparing himself for a long, lonely journey, with only his own thoughts for company; no one would want to sit with a former Death Eater. Continuing to occupy himself with the view out of the window he saw Potter a group of Gryffindors rush towards the train, too caught up in their conversation to hear the whistle go. As he peered closer he picked out the faces; Potter, the two Weasels, the Granger girl, Loony Lovegood and Longbottom, all heading onto the opposite end of the train. Draco smirked- good luck finding an empty compartment now. On second thought anyone would more than willingly make space for the Boy Wonder and his friends. The train left the station with a swift jolt and Draco continued to stare, this time un-seeing, out of the window, lost in his thoughts.
HPDMHPDM Harry's POV HPDMHPDM
The six friends had gotten so lost in their conversation that they had failed to hear the whistle, and only noticed that the platform was almost completely deserted when Luna glanced up to shout a final goodbye to her father. They ran to the train- well as much as you can run whilst carrying a trunk with a year's worth of belongings in it- and Neville got onto the train and shut the door seconds before the train departed.
Dragging their luggage behind them the five wandered down the aisle looking for a compartment. Almost every group they saw offered to make space for them, but they declined, not wanting to intrude or be stared at for the whole journey. Eventually they reached a seemingly empty compartment after walking what felt like the entire length of the train. Harry poked his head in and noticed that it wasn't, as he had first suspected, empty. Sitting alone in the corner next to the window was Draco Malfoy. Harry stared; the man had changed so much since he last saw him. Gone was the arrogance and the almost un-ending confidence had been reduced to a mere shadow. His hair, while still gelled back in it's usual stiffness, had grown and Harry could see without the gel would have gone passed the man's chin. His skin had gotten even paler, verging on sallow and there were bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. His silver-grey eyes looked out at him, full of loss and loneliness, mixed with a hint of surprise, and possibly, just for a second, hope. His posture and clothes however were as impeccable as usual and he appeared to have retained his aristocratic airs, despite his family's fall from grace. As he watched Malfoy's eyes widened slightly, before returning to their previous dead gaze, so different from his usual look of distaste.
"Do you mind if we sit?" he asked his former rival, indicating the empty seats. Malfoy gave a stiff nod, allowing them entrance, and returned to gazing out the window. The group entered, stowing their luggage in the over-head shelving. Harry watched Malfoy as he eyed the rest of the group entering, rolling his eyes almost imperceptibly as he saw who they were. Harry attempted to ignore him and sat, turning to talk to his friends, glancing back at the man, now a shadow of his former self, sitting opposite him.
HPDMHPDM Draco's POV HPDMHPDM
Approaching voices lifted Draco out of his thoughts, and he glanced around, looking for the source, until he noticed they were coming from the aisle outside. He was about to return to his musings when the compartment door opened, and a head peaked in.
Draco's breath caught in his throat, and his eyes widened slightly as he saw whose head it was. Harry Potter. Draco stared at the person in front of him. He had become more tanned since he last set eyes on him. His hair was as unruly as ever; striking out in every conceivable direction, covering his scar, and behind his glasses his emerald green eyes sparkled at him. Ever since Potter had saved him in the Room of Requirements he hadn't been able to get him out of his head, going over his every word, every movement, every meaning behind them, until he knew them off by heart. During the trials he hadn't been able to say a single word to the man, offering him only a small smile and a nod as thanks when he had been set free. He quickly controlled his features as Potter asked to sit down. Draco was shocked. Why would Harry Potter, of all people, want to sit with Him, an ex-Death Eater? There really must have been literally no seats left, as he had suspected. Draco nodded, unable to do more in his current state.
He went back to looking out the window, but watched the group out of the corner of his eye, unaware of Potter's gaze on him, and rolled his eyes as he saw who it was; the same four as on the platform. This was going to be a fun journey. He continued to watch curiously as they took their seats. Harry, for some reason, sat opposite him, next to the Weasel and Granger girl, who were obviously still together. The Weaselette sat opposite Granger next to Lovegood, who was holding hands with Longbottom, who ended up next to him, unfortunately. Well that pairing's new. Potter and the Weaselette were sitting as far away from each other as physically possible. Interesting- trouble in paradise perhaps?
His observations went unnoticed by everyone, including Harry who appeared to have returned to his conversation.
HPDMHPDM Harry's POV HPDMHPDM
Harry attempted to follow the conversation; occasionally following it for long enough to give his input, but his thoughts kept wandering back to the blonde in front of him. It was getting ridiculous, it really was. Ever since the trial when he had defended Draco- no Malfoy, his name is Malfoy- and the man had given him a genuine smile, lighting up his face, just slightly, he hadn't been able to stop himself from thinking about him for more than 10 minutes. It was getting infuriating, and he didn't even understand why he kept doing. It was Malfoy, for crying out loud, who he fought with ever since first, Malfoy who had insulted him and his friends on an almost daily basis, Malfoy who had been a Death Eater and at one point had tried to kill him. But he kept remembering his smile, and other things like how he would look, all calm and peaceful when there weren't any other Slytherins around, and how he hadn't turned him over to Lestrange. And, yes he was staring at him again. Harry tore his eyes away, forcing himself to listen to the conversation in front of him, hoping no one had noticed. In doing so he missed the smirk cross Malfoy's face as he continued to eye the countryside outside the window.
This was going to be a long journey.
A/N – Hopefully that hasn't sucked too much. I know it's slow but I had to get all the basics down, you know where, when, who and everyone's situations. In case your wondering Harry isn't living at Grimauld Place, he's at the Burrow, because I think after everything they've been through he'd rather be with family. Also wanted to say the dictionary on my laptop is really funny; wanted to change Weasley to Weasel and apparate to appear, and it already knew Gryffindor but not Slytherin. This has been quite fun to write so I'll probably update soon
Chance x