Nothing in the story is mine, but rather everything belongs to the wonderful JK Rowling.

Chapter One: The Next Day

Four grown boys were crowded around a four poster bed where midday light fell on a fifth boy with messy black hair and a lightning shaped scar who slept peacefully. The tallest of the boys had flaming red hair and seemed to be trying to persuade the other three to stop something.

"He deserves to rest," he said. "You do realize that this is his first chance in a year don't you," he added pointedly.

"We know, Ron," said a boy with long black hair and several scars across his face, "but he has been asleep since yesterday morning and it's nearly noon now!"

"Neville's right. He needs to eat and people really want to see him. He did just defeat He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named after all."

"Well, Dean, I think that seeing as he did just defeat He-Who-Must…err, I mean V-Vold-Voldemort he can lay there for however long he damn well pleases!"

"Ron?" asked a groggy voice.

"Wha…Harry? Are you awake?"

"Yeah. Well, waking up actually. Did I just hear you say Voldemort's name?"

Ron's cheeks began to match his hair.

"Umm, yeah, well he isn't exactly fearsome now that he's kicked the bucket, is he?"

"He has come back before," Harry pointed out darkly.

"You don't think he'll come back again, do ya Harry," asked Seamus.

"No. Ron, Hermione and I made sure of it. Neville too."

Neville looked surprised and Harry suddenly felt as if he had given too much information. After all, hadn't he kept his promise to Dumbledore not to tell anyone but Ron and Hermione about Voldermort's horcruxes?

Did it really matter anymore, though? Yes, horcruxes are extremely dangerous dark magic, but Harry was not afraid of anyone trying to emulate Voldemort just now. The truth was that Harry was not quite ready to reveal that, while he was Voldemort's initial downfall almost 17 years ago, he was also what kept him alive. For now, Harry thought, it was best to keep that information between Ron, Hermione and himself. Luckily, Neville killed the subject.

"I just killed Nagini. You are the real hero, Harry!"

"Yeah, the boy who lived…twice," joked Seamus. "Must be nice to be immune to the killing curse, eh?"

There was an uncomfortable laugh. Seamus' joke brought reality crashing down around Harry. Not only could Harry see the bruises Seamus acquired at the hands of the Carrows now that he was facing the light, he remembered that Hogwarts was in ruin. Within its ruble death was spread on a scale few had ever known. Harry felt a pang of sadness as he recalled the death of Fred Weasley. Always there to lighten Harry's mood, he could not even comprehend the significance of this tragedy to himself, to Ron, to the other Weasleys, or especially to George.

Then, a new wave of grief washed over him as if a dementor glided into the dormitory. Lupin and Tonks - he realized he had seen their bodies resting next to Fred's. This could not be. They had a new born son. Little Ted Remus Tonks could not be orphaned. Harry reflected on this despair until Ron broke the silence.

"Harry? I was going to spend time with my family, but since you're awake now, do you want me to knick you some food?"

Harry was not feeling the least bit hungry at the moment. He was not used to hearing Ron so disheartened and felt immeasurably touched that Ron wanted to put Harry's needs before his own need to console himself with family.

"I'm not hungry. Besides, I can think of no place I'd rather be right now than with your family. That is, if they don't mind seeing me."

"Of course, mate," Ron said somewhat more brightly, "You know you're as much a Weasley as I am. Mum has been too busy worrying about you to grieve properly anyhow. It'll help her if she can mother you some."

Harry began to feel a little guilty about the amount of time he allowed himself to rest as he descended Gryffindor Tower with Ron. Suits of armor sat maimed throughout the castle. Large portions of the walls had been blasted through leaving large pieces of stone blocking various passage ways. Portraits were ripped. Possessions were scattered about. Harry had somehow thought all would be well immediately after Voldemort's defeat. He forgot that life is not quite that nice.

As they reached the ground level of the castle, they began to run into others. House elves were working furiously with Professor Flitwick to repair a wall that looked to be severely unstable. Through the broken windows, Harry could see centaurs helping students move bodies to the graveyard. Parents were consoling children throughout the Great Hall and grounds. It appeared that all the evacuees had returned and then some with some just wandering the castle aimlessly.

No matter what the people were doing, when Harry walked past everyone immediately gawked at him with a reverential stare. Reminded of his first trip to the Leaky Cauldron, he could not help but feel similarly overwhelmed by everyone's reaction. Didn't everyone contribute to the Battle of Hogwarts equally? Their stares burned hot on him. He began to walk faster, tugging on an oblivious Ron. He had never considered this. He was a celebrity since age one, but now he was truly a legend. Seamus' joke floated back into his mind – the boy who lived twice. Would he now be thought of something resembling a god? Will people now expect him to be the solution to all their problems?

Suddenly, Harry was called out of these disturbing thoughts by a shriek by a normally comforting voice and found himself enveloped in bushy brown hair.

"Harry!"

"Hiya, Hermione."

"I knew you needed rest, but I couldn't help worrying that you might not wake up."

"Yeah, she was so preoccupied she could not even enjoy the library."

"Ron!"

"I appreciate it Hermione, but aren't there more important things to worry about than me," he asked thinking of the poor Weasleys and his new godson.

"Not exactly. Everyone has been waiting for you."

"Wait, wha?"

"Harry," exclaimed Hermione sounding exasperated, "You defeated Voldemort. Every death here was to help you reach that goal. The funeral cannot be held without you because, well, you are the only person who could possibly provide closure for all the families."

Harry just stood there for a minute. It seemed so obvious once Hermione said it, but he hadn't even considered it before then. Frowning, Harry realized this was just one of the many things people would now expect from him. The problem was that he was not even that good a speaker. How could he possibly find the words that would ease the sorrow of everyone?

"Hermione, don't pressure him like that."

"I'm not pressuring him, Ronald. I'm just telling him what people expect."

"Well, don't you think people are expecting a bit much of him? Oh Harry, be a dear and vanquish the Dark Lord. Finished yet? Ok, now here's a list of other chores we'd like you to do."

"Of course people expect too much of him! Do you think I want him to have to continue to be the savior of the wizarding world? At least I've noticed that Harry has been successful at everything he's been asked to do."

Harry chuckled to himself. There was nothing more normal to him than Ron and Hermione bickering with one another. He always joked with himself that one day they would discover snogging was infinitely more enjoyable. Speaking of which…

"Hey, after I saw you two snog during the battle I didn't think I would have to deal with this arguing anymore."

Both Ron and Hermione stopped yelling and stared awkwardly at their own feet muttering.

"Heat of the moment"

"Excitement overcame my senses"

They walked on, Ron and Hermione being extra careful to stay on opposite sides of Harry. They approached the graveyard and saw the rest of the Weasleys and Fleur standing around Fred's casket. They turned to see the trio approaching and the grief etched into each of their faces softened slightly.

"Harry, dear," said Molly hugging him furiously, "Have you eaten since the battle? You look peaky."

"Molly, I'm sure Harry will eat when he's hungry," said Arthur, "How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine," said Harry, though fine was not at all how he felt. It was incredibly difficult to see proof of Fred's death, to see George - who hadn't even lost his humor when he lost his ear - look inconsolable. Then there was Ginny. Strong as ever, standing composedly even as tears stained her cheeks. He walked over to her and instinctively put her hand in his. They did not even look at each other, but just stood in silence with the rest in the noonday light.

A powerful looking black wizard in magnificent purple robes walked up to the Weasley clan. He offered his condolences to Arthur and Molly and then paid his respects to the body.

Afterwards, he spoke to Harry.

"May I have a word?"

"Of course, Kingsley."

"I know that you have not had a favorable view of the Ministry in quite some time Harry," he said looking at Harry's hand, "so please realize that I am not asking this as Minister of Magic (that's temporary anyways) but as a member of the Order. Do you think you might be persuaded to speak at the funeral this evening? Yours is the voice the people want to hear, the voice of the new world order."

"Hermione anticipated this request. I can speak, but Kingsley, I am not the leader of a revolution. I haven't even paid attention in A History of Magic, save once!"

"Well, you can certainly choose to do what you will, but the fact of the matter is that everyone sees you as a savior. There is much more good you can do than just defeat Voldemort. Just because he's gone does not mean the ideas behind blood purity will just up and go. You can help reshape the world, Harry."

Kingsley patted him on the shoulder and left Harry with his thoughts. For so long he assumed his story would end with Voldemort's that he had barely considered what the future could contain. He began to think of Hermione and S.P.E.W. and imagined himself as some sort of activist. It was Ron, however, who brought it up.

"You could work to improve the status of house elves. I mean, you've been doing it all your life, but you can reach beyond individual elves now."

Hermione looked as if she could have kissed Ron but hesitated when she remembered his entire family was present and instead settled on smiling sheepishly and giving Harry further suggestions.

"Ron's right, Harry. More than just the house elves, you could help mend the relations between wizards, goblins and centaurs as well. We could be on the cusp of great change!"

"But I do not even understand why the races have been so hostile to each other, or how they could allow themselves to be so hostile for so long."

"I s'pose that's why it's got to be you, mate" Ron said, "Outside perspective, ya know?"

This all sounded well and good in theory, but Harry was not an orator. In fact, most of the time Harry found himself struggling for any words at all. He has never been able to articulate his immense gratitude for what has been practically an adoption into the Weasley family, and his relationship with Ginny was not exactly based on conversation. How could he challenge millennia of thought when many better wizards had failed?

The afternoon dragged on and more and more people began to trickle into the graveyard until it seemed that everyone in the wizarding world was there. Arabella Figg looked windswept as she spoke to Dedalus Diggle. Elphias Doge was discussing the future of Hogwarts with McGonagall as Neville's grandmother welcomed the extended Abbott family. Tom, the bartender, and Aberforth were lamenting the effects the Death Eaters' regime had had on business. Scanning the crowd, Harry noticed to his displeasure a familiar blonde dressed in a gaudy sequined outfit sitting next to Madame Malkin. Rita Skeeter, of course, must corrupt the bittersweet victory in her next book. He immediately began searching the crowd for even the slightest hint of pink. Umbridge had had the nerve to show up to Dumbledore's funeral, so she was sure to turn up today. Surprisingly, though, he could not see her in the crowd and his mood lightened.

"Hmm, hmm."

That bit of happiness did not last long as he heard the sickingly polite cough come from the podium. The crowd took this to mean that the eulogy was about to begin and began to take seats. After a few moments there was pure silence as everyone looked expectantly at the podium where a somberly dressed Umbridge stood alone. Harry looked around and saw the shock on the face of every member of the Order, though few other wizards or witches saw anything odd about this. The centaurs, however, began to trot agitatedly.

"Witches and Wizards: Today is a glorious day for the Dark Lord has been defeated. It really speaks to the nobility of our race that the most powerful dark magics and dark creatures could be defeated with skilled wandwork coupled with perseverance. However, our celebration of evil defeated is undercut with our mourning for the brave wizards who gave their lives to ensure our freedom from the Dark Arts. Now to help us pay respect to the dead, the Boy Who Lived will speak."

Everyone stood up and applauded as Harry walked to the podium. Umbridge hugged him as she sat went to sit down whispering loudly "You brave boy" as Rita Skeeter's photographer snapped photos. Resentment shot through Harry. However, he felt that this was the wrong venue to call Umbridge out. He reached the podium still not exactly sure what he would say and just began talking.

"Umm, Hello?"

The crowd was on the edge of their seats so as to catch every word Harry said as quickly as possible. Ron and Hermione tried to give him encouraging looks, but it hardly masked their reaction for his botched opening. Seething at Umbridge's intentional neglect to address non-humans, Harry found the words he wanted to the world to hear.

"Err, One day ago the magical world was in all out warfare. Voldemort had seized almost complete control and oppressed muggles, muggleborns, blood traitors and, oh yeah, non-humans in a corrupt regime," Harry began not entirely sure where he was going with this line of thinking.

"But, umm, it was also one day ago that the side of good took their stand here, at Hogwarts, and defeated Voldemort once and for all. Wizard and witch, pure blood and muggleborn, human and non-human joined forces and created an unbeatable force for justice. Many on our side died unfortunately, too many in fact, but they did so in a valiant effort to rid the world of evil."

Upon that thought, ridding the world of evil, Harry began to realize what he wanted to say. He thought back for a second on Umbridge's ridiculous assertion that it was only the Dark Arts that were to be feared, not the ideologies behind their use, and with Voldemort dead, evil must have been completely vanquished.

Beginning again a little louder and with a lot more conviction in his voice, Harry said, "Now we can return to the lives we led before the war. Lives where the house elf is degraded due to its subservient status. Lives where the centaur populations are tightly controlled. Lives where the goblins mistrust the wizard's every action. Lives where capable wizards with pro-muggle sentiments are kept from advancing in the Ministry. Perhaps it was not merely Voldemort that almost destroyed our lives. Perhaps we had just as much a hand in this tragedy as the Death Eaters."

The atmosphere changed dramatically. Harry could hear shocked gasps from the audience and realized that most of the people here were probably scandalized to hear themselves put in the same light as the Death Eaters, that their tolerance of wizard superiority might share a perverse nature with pureblood mania.

"No one here, I hope, condones these prejudices, but without the courage to stand against others who act on them we give into the same fear that brought Voldemort to power in the first place. The magical world must stand united in order to maintain peace. Humans and non-humans should be treated with equal dignity and ridiculous ideologies like blood purity must be forsaken. Now that we have the chance to literally rebuild the world, let us learn from the lessons of this war so that our bretheren need not have died in vain.

There was silence for an uncomfortable amount of time before Harry realized that no one was sure that he was done.

"Oh, umm, Thank you," he added quickly.

When Harry finished there was only a smattering of applause, started enthusiastically by Hermione and soon followed by Ron and the Order, due to the shock the audience felt. Many faces looked uncomfortable as if Harry had just sent them a howler screaming embarrassing secrets. A significant few, such as Umbridge, looked livid at being told off for not accepting what they deemed lesser beings. However, what seemed to be a majority were merely awed by the powerful words and joined the initial applause when they regained their senses with resounding ovation.

Harry tried to find his way through the throngs of people clamoring to congratulate him back to Ron and Hermione but became trapped in a great hug by Hagrid.

"Arry, tha' speech was a beauty, tha' was. I always said blood purity was a load of bollocks. Ye shoulda mentioned giants. Grawpy did his part too, but I know ye didn' mean anything by it."

"Thanks, Hagrid, If there is a next time I will!" said Harry who hugged the weepy half giant back and ran off.

He found Ron and Hermione talking to the Finch-Fletchleys and Madam Rosmerta who grew excited as they saw Harry approach them. After Justin and his parents thanked Harry profusely for his courage against Voldemort and for the conviction with which he gave his speech and Rosmerta told him that he and his friends would never have to pay at her establishment again, Harry got Ron and Hermione to himself.

"Where did that come from Harry?"

"That was much more impassioned than I've ever heard you before, even in the DA!"

"Well, I was just so angry that Umbridge blatantly tried to slight non-humans in her opening by only referring to wizards and witches."

"Yes, I noticed that as well," said Hermione concerned.

"What do you think she was playing at?"

"I dunno," said Harry grimly, "but I can't imagine she is too happy with my idea of the future."

"Oh well, that fat toad will be chucked into Azkaban any time now, so I don't we'll have to worry about her now, will we?" Ron joked.

"I wouldn't be so sure, Ron, Umbridge does seem to know how to stay in power even when she should be arrested," Hermione pointed out.

When everything began to die down, people started to head to the Great Hall where the house elves had prepared food for everyone. Hermione pointed out with great delight whenever she saw someone go out of his way to thank the house elves, and made a point to thank Kreacher who made a great effort not to be entirely horrible towards her, though grumbled a great deal as walked away.

Harry had not realized how much he missed Hogwarts in the past year. Of course it was not the same place while the Carrows imposed Voldemort's will there, but now it was full of vibrant life, even as the walls buckled a bit around them. Students and parents alike were lining up in front of McGonagall's seat in order to volunteer to help rebuild the school over summer holiday and Harry smiled knowing that many people seemed to share his affinity.

"Do you guys want to volunteer to help rebuild the school?"

"I would, but I think I should help George at the shop. He's not going to be able to get on on his own."

"I would too, but there is something I must do first. In fact, I need to go pack now," Hermione stated nonchalantly.

Harry and Ron looked nonplussed.

"Wha?" gasped Ron

"I need to go find my parents and remove the charm I placed on them so that they can come home," she explained.

"Do you know where they are?" asked Harry.

"Not exactly, but I know that Wendell and Monica Wilkins greatly desired a move to Australia."

"Oh, so you are just going to up and go to Australia without so much as a goodbye?" Ron fumed.

"Well, I hadn't thought it'd be a long trip, and I figured you would need your family more than anything right now," Hermione said softly.

"I need more than just family right now!"

"I didn't think you would feel that strongly about it. I would love it if you came with me. I mean, I would love if you both joined me" she said forcing herself to acknowledge Harry as well.

"Good."

"Great."

Ron and Hermione then got up and left in separate directions leaving Harry to laugh about the scene that just unfolded alone.

I hope y'all enjoyed chapter one. This is actually an updated version. I was writing this story forever ago when my computer crashed and I thought I lost it all, but I have recently recovered all the files. I have the entire story planned out, and most of it is written so I'm hoping to get it all out there very soon, there is just some intense editing that needs to happen first. Please feel free to review as any criticism will help me craft a better story. Next up will be Chapter Two – Hermione's Quest.