Chapter - 1

Harry woke up in his bed in the dormitory of Gryffindor tower. He remembered the events of the past few days. He had finally defeated the most evil and fearsome wizard the wizarding world had ever had, but he wasn't feeling exceptionally happy or in the mood to celebrate the victory. So many people had died to win this war. The second war, which had begun three years ago, was finally over, and this time, it was for good. Despite all that, the cost was too high. He shook his head, and looked at his watch only to discover it still wasn't working. He slid the curtain to one side to get out of the four-poster bed, only to see Ron and Hermione sleeping on Ron's bed. Although they were fully clothed, he still felt weird seeing them laying together, but he didn't want to wake them.

Harry looked out of the window and was surprised that it was dark. 'It looks like I've slept the whole day away', he thought. He walked out of the dormitory into the common room, trying to make no noise, or as little noise as possible, where the rest of the Weasleys were sleeping. Ginny was hugging George, grief etched upon both of their sleeping faces.

'I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't save him.' He wanted to tell George that, but knew it wouldn't be enough. George hadn't just lost his twin brother, but his best friend and a companion.

He left without saying anything. 'Could I have been able to save him?' he wondered .

Knowing he still had a job to finish, he put on his invisibility cloak and made his way to the grounds. While passing the Great Hall, he saw many people were still arranging the dead and helping the injured.

Harry saw Neville and walked over to him. "Hello, Neville," Harry said.

Neville jumped. "Harry! That's the second time today you've frightened me."

"Sorry." Harry looked around, seeing the damage to the grounds. "I'm looking for Hagrid. Do you know where he is?"

"Yeah, I saw him near that end of the forest a while ago," Neville said, pointing towards the forest.

"Thanks." Harry patted Neville on the shoulder as he walked out to the grounds. He spotted Hagrid's silhouette against the moonlight.

"Hagrid," he said, his voice hoarse.

"'Ello, Harry. Everythin' alright?" Hagrid asked, concern covering his face.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Actually, I was looking for you. I wanted to apologise for what happened in the forest," Harry said.

"Eh, no problem, Harry. Sometime yeh 'ave ter do things like tha'", Hagrid said shaking his head.

"Hagrid, could… could you help me with one more thing?" Harry asked.

Hagrid smiled. "'Course! What do yeh need?"

"Can you get me a thestral?" Harry asked.

"Sure, but what for?" Hagrid asked, his thick brow rising.

"Dumbledore's work isn't finished yet," Harry said

Hagrid gave Harry a once-over. "Yeh okay?"

Harry, more focused on the thestral, ignored him. The groundskeeper turned and started making a noise, one Harry knew very well from his fifth year. Soon a single thestral came forth from the forest.

Harry walked forward, patted its neck and climbed onto its back. "Godric's Hollow," he said in its ear and without warning, the thestral took off into the sky.

It was over an hour after he'd started his journey when his fingers began to numb. Another half-hour later, the Thestral started descending and, eventually, landed. Harry slid from its back and started walking on the narrow path which was barely visible to him.

He was standing at Ignotus Peverell's grave. Harry dug a hole next to the grave with his wand and conjured a box. Then, placing the Elder Wand into the box, he buried the box in the hole and refilled it magically, so nobody could tell the dirt had been disturbed.

As Harry walked towards his parents grave he saw around him and it was like any normal day. People doing their regular chores. Nothing seemed out of place. Other than that it was the day when the wizarding world was finally free, the most evil wizard of all time was finally defeated. He sat near their tombstone and traced their names with his fingertips. It felt as if they were around, as if they never left. "Mum, Dad, we won!" Harry said, with tears in his eyes. "Thank you for always being there for me. If not for you I wouldn't have possibly been able to do any of this. I miss you guys and I wish you were here to see this. Tell sirius I miss him too and he's the best godfather one could ever have. Hope you guys are doing well. Say hello to Fred and Remus and tell that I'm sorry."

After what seemed like a few short moments, but in reality was more than an hour and a half. Harry returned to the thestral and began his journey back to Hogwarts. Once he made it back, he discovered Hermione and Ron weren't looking for him. 'They're probably still in bed.' Harry thought to himself.

The bodies of the fallen were laid near the head table and the bodies of the Death Eaters had been dumped in the farthest corner of the hall. He walked to the heroes whom he knew so well. Upon seeing the bodies of Lupin and Tonks were laid next to each other, tears started to fall down from his eyes as he got closer to them.

After gathering himself, he went to each body in turn. Some of them he knew personally, some only by face, and some were totally strangers to him, yet they fought for him. He thanked them for their sacrifice. At last, he came to Fred's body. He saw that Jimmy Peakes, who was a beater on his team during his sixth year, was lying next to Fred's body. Harry fell to all fours, crying once again. He didn't know how long he cried, until someone was moved to stand next to him. Harry looked up and was surprised to see Kreacher standing there.

"Kreacher!" he said in a tone of surprise, and quickly wiping his eyes. "How are you, my friend?"

"Kreacher is fine, Master Harry," he said with a bow so low that his nose nearly touched the floor. "Kreacher knows Master Harry has not eaten anything and Kreacher knows that Master Harry is not feeling well. Master Harry is very sad."

"Yeah, I'm not feeling good at the moment," Harry said.

"Ca... Can Kreacher request something from Master Harry?" Kreacher asked.

"What is it, Kreacher?" Harry replied. 'Does he want to be freed?'

"Will Master Harry come to the kitchen for a cup of tea?" Kreacher asked. "It is to help Master Harry feel good and Kreacher knows Master Harry has not eaten anything."

Harry was taken aback by Kreature's request but accepted his offer. He was sitting at a long kitchen table waiting for his tea and watching the other house elves go about their work before looking back at Kreature.

"Kreacher, will you have a cup of tea with me?" Harry asked as he took the cup from Kreacher.

Kreacher stared at him for a few seconds, then replied. "House elves is not supposed to sit with their Masters."

"Why not? Come and sit with me," Harry said and Kreacher reluctantly accepted. After Harry took the first sip of tea, he felt good.

"So, here you are. Drinking tea with house elves." Harry heard a voice from behind.

Turning, he saw Ginny standing there, smiling. He couldn't help but notice, though, that it didn't reach her eyes.

He smiled back as he saw her. "Do you want to join us?"

"Sure," she replied and sat down next to them. They both drank their tea in a comfortable silence. They both thanked Kreacher and the other house elves before walking out of the kitchen.

"When is the funeral?" Harry asked as the door of kitchen closed behind them.

"Tomorrow afternoon, at two, here at Hogwarts," Ginny said. Before Harry could say anything she added, "and Mum asked me to tell you to come to the Burrow afterwards."

"Ok," Harry said in hoarse voice. 'Fred was her brother and she just lost him because of me.'

Ginny sensed his pain and squeezed his hand.

"Do you want to take a stroll?" she asked.

"Yeah. Let's do that". Harry said .

They walked around the lake and stopped under a peach tree. They sat under the tree, while Harry stared into space. He was thinking over the past seven years: from the day he found out he was a wizard, on his eleventh birthday, until today. He'd lost so many people. So many people had died because of him: his parent died to save him, Cedric was killed because he was at wrong place at wrong time, Sirius died because he made a rash decision, Dumbledore died to agin save him, and today so many died in fight against Voldemort, so that Harry could search for the horcrux. So much had happened, from dealing with House Elves to fighting giant trolls and snakes.

"How are you feeling?" Ginny asked, bringing him back from his thoughts.

"Fine," he lied.

"You don't need to lie to me, Harry, you know that," Ginny said him in a low voice. "You're not feeling well. You think all these deaths are your fault."

Harry stared into her eyes, brown and beautiful, but filled with so much sadness. 'She knows me so well'

"Yeah, you're right," he told her.

Sighing, she leaned over him and kissed him. He melted at her touch.

"I love you, Harry," she said as they parted to breathe. She lowered her voice, so only Harry could hear. "It's not your fault, you know." .

They started walking back towards the castle, meeting Ron and Hermione halfway.

"There you are," Ron said suspiciously "Where have you been, you two?"

"We were taking a walk," Ginny said rolling her eyes .

"What are you planning to do with the wand, Harry?" Hermione asked Harry, before Ron had time to say anything that would have given rise to the argument between the siblings.

"I have already taken care of it," Harry said, knowing Hermione was talking about the Elder Wand.

"And you didn't tell us?" Ron asked, surprised

"Yes, and I'll take the secret to my grave," Harry said.

"What? Did you hide it somewhere else?" Ron said, "I thought you were going to put it in Dumbledore's tomb."

"After our meeting with his portrait, I realised that if I ever lost a duel, I would no longer be its master. If it's hidden, it can't fall into the wrong hands," Harry explained.

"What are you talking about?" Ginny asked.

"We're talking about the Elder Wand," Harry said, before turning to Ron and Hermione, "and please don't ask me where it's hidden. I can't tell anyone, not even you."

Although Ron understood Harry's reasons for keeping the Elder Wand's hiding place secret, he didn't look happy with the decision.

The two couples walked inside the castle, to where the rest of the Weasley family were waiting for them in the Great Hall. They stood surrounding Fred's body.

"Oh, there you are. I was wondering where you all were," Mrs Weasley said. She was clearly relieved, and wrapped each of them in a bone crushing hug.

"Err... where is Mr Weasley?" Harry asked.

"He had to go to the Ministry. Kingsley needs as much help as he can get. Percy went with him," Mrs Weasley explained.

At that moment, Professor McGonagall stood at head table, and everyone's attention shifted to her.

"I have some announcements for you all, the funeral ceremony will be held here on Hogwarts grounds, tomorrow at two in the afternoon." McGonagall's shoulders sagged.

Harry raised his hand and said, "Professor, I want to tell everyone something."

"What is it, Mr Potter?"

Harry walked towards the head table. "I want to say something about Professor Snape." He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts, then looked at everyone and began. "Severus Snape was not a Death Eater."

Hearing this, lots of murmurs spread through the hall. He raised his hand to silence them before continuing. "He was not a Death Eater. He was a spy for Professor Dumbledore."

"But, he murdered Dumbledore!" someone said, interrupting. Harry knew the voice but couldn't place it.

"No, he didn't murder him," Harry said. "Professor Dumbledore was already dying from a curse. Professor Snape slowed it down, but he wasn't able to cure it. Professor Snape killed Professor Dumbledore on his orders. Professor Dumbledore wanted to make his death quick and painless, and Snape helped him." Harry paused a moment and took a deep breath.

"I know what you're all thinking, but I have proof." He took a small vial from his pocket and handed it over to Professor McGonagall. "These are memories Professor Snape gave to me just before dying, so he could explain everything. Voldemort made his snake kill Snape. His body is still in the Shrieking Shack. He should be buried tomorrow, together with everyone else who died in the battle.."

"Don't worry, Harry. We will take care of that, and we will honour him, as the war hero he was. Is there anything else you wish to say?" McGonagall asked with tears in her eyes.

"No, not now, but please add my name to the list of volunteers for the repair of the castle." With that, Harry walked to where all the Weasleys and Hermione were waiting and with them, went to Gryffindor tower.

Instead of going to the dormitory, he went to Dennis Creevey, who was sitting near the fire. "Dennis," Harry said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I want to say I'm sorry about Colin." His voice became heavy as he spoke.

"Don't be sorry, it's not your fault," Dennis said, looking at Harry with tears in his eyes. "I am proud of my brother. He was a hero. He died fighting, and he was fighting for the right thing, for the freedom of the world. He admired you, Harry. It would be a great dishonour to him if you felt guilty about his death."

Harry didn't know what to say to that, so he just nodded. "If you need help, let me know."

"I will," Dennis promised.

Harry went to Mrs Weasley next, meaning to say something, anything, but before he could, she pulled him into her arms.

"Harry, it's not your fault dear," Mrs Weasley said. "We all knew the risk and it was our choice to fight and nobody blames you for the death of their loved ones." Harry held her tightly and started to cry. Mrs Weasley held him and let him cry. All the while, she kept whispering kind words to him until he calmed down.

A/N 1: If you find any factual and grammatical errors, please let me know. This is not a strictly canon story.

A/N 2: I forgot to ask the FFNET name of my beta reader so I am using there original - Kori Caignou, Smruti Supramna, Ashley Adkins, Hans Nathan Kung these are my current beta reader. There were many people also who gave their contribution but never stayed for long and list will go on forever if I mention them too that is why I am not mentioning them but they still deserve the credit.