Disclaimer: I Don't Own Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling); or the song (Ministry of Magic)
Description: This is after the battle, sitting in the dorm room together and alone.
A/N: The muse for this story came while cleaning in the kitchen and listening to Don't Leave by Ministry of Magic over and over again and again. So good, it even makes me tear up… which songs don't usually do, there are only about three of four more that do; if that many…
Harry, Ron and Hermione sat in the boy's dormitory. Kreacher had just left, leaving plates with sandwiches, bowls of soup, and two pitchers of pumpkin juice.
No one talked as they ate. Harry sat on a bed by himself and Ron and Hermione sat next to each other, sides touching. The plates were emptied twice, the soup bowls three times and the pumpkin juice a few more times. Harry set them aside, no one able to eat or drink more. Still no one talked; no one knew the right words to say anymore.
"I…" Hermione looked down at her hands in her lap,
Harry looked over at his friends. Hermione was half asleep, while Ron looked like her was still running on adrenaline, both of their faces still stained with tears.
"We should sleep," Harry said, looking at the two.
"I don't think I could, even if I wanted to," Hermione said, looking at Harry. "It's over…
"What are we going to do?" Ron asked.
No one said anything for a while. No one knew what to say. They didn't have to research in the morning when they woke; they didn't have to worry about whose names they were going to hear the next day on Potter Watch.
"We should probably help with the cleaning of the school. Help with the enchantments and the rubble," Hermione said turning to glace at Ron.
"Right, shouldn't have asked," Ron said with a chuckle, "more work."
"I really should talk to McGonagall in the morning. Find out what the Order has been doing. Talk to families…"
"I have to go get my parents! I forgot…" Hermione said putting her face into her hands, a few sobs pouring out of her, "I forgot about them…"
Ron placed his arm around her shoulders as Harry spoke, "They were safe Hermione, and you never forgot them, you left them safe."
"We can go next week Hermione," Ron said after she clamed a bit and sat up again. Ron pulled his arm around and placed his hand back into his lap.
"But besides everything, what are we going to do next year?" Harry asked looking at his friends… he realized in the moment while they all sat looking at each other, that was what he saw, his friends, not whatever he had been seeing the past bunch of months. He saw how young they looked… he realized how young he really was… and that made him want to cry.
"I have to clean out my purse, "Hermione said breaking the silence of the room, "and I think… I want to return next year for N.E.W.T.S."
Ron and Harry looked at each other and smiles broke out on their faces, then the laughter from all three burst into the room. After a few minutes when they calmed down Harry said, "I'm not sure about Ron, but I don't know if school is going to help me anymore."
Ron nodded before his smile fell of his face. "We have funerals… a lot of them."
That sobered the room and they all sat in silence. Harry looked down at his hands, Ron looked down at his bared hands and decided he couldn't look at them empty, so he reached over and grabbed Hermione's hands and Hermione had been looking at her nails trying to think of what to say, knowing that she wasn't going to convince Harry or Ron to come back with her, and that was when Ron grabbed her hands, causing her to smile. She then laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, tears slowly leaking from her eyes.
It was ten minutes before Harry tried to say something, but stopped when he saw that Hermione's face was tear stained again, and that she was sleeping.
"Ron," Harry said, not knowing how to continue so he pointed at Hermione.
"I know," Ron whispered, "But I can't take her up the stairs to her dorm…"
"Just lay her down on your bed, I doubt anyone is going to yell at us in the morning. We just saved the world."
So Ron did, he stood, holding onto Hermione so that she wouldn't fall and Harry stood and helped Ron lay Hermione down so that her head was on Ron's pillow. Harry and Ron pulled the blankets up and covered Hermione up to her shoulders. They watched as she relaxed into the bed and fell deeper into sleep.
Ron turned to Harry, "Where…"
"Don't be an idiot, Ron. You two have been dancing around each other for so long…"
"Right," Ron said, "Night then. I think… in the morning we are going to have to help with everything. Mum will want to inspect us three, make sure we are okay."
Harry chuckled before turning and heard the curtains of Ron's bed close.
He crawled into his bed and right as he was about to close his he saw the door open, light flooding the other side of the room. Harry brought his wand up, but lowered it when he saw that it was Ginny. Her face was stained too with fallen tears, and her eyes were still wet looking. He put his wand down as she closed the door and walked over to him.
Not a word was spoken between the two as Ginny crawled into his bed between the blankets and Harry closed the curtains. Sleep met them fast.
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