Ash and dust settled on scattered rubble, parts of the ancient castle still crumbling as it gave way to it's newly weakened structure but this home of magic would be rebuilt before the next year of students flooded the school, the doors still open for any student who wished to learn and attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Magic in autumn. For now, the grounds remained grey and red with the remains of the battle that had been fought long and hard.

The dead had been collected up, lain out carefully side by side before they were returned home with their families. So many dead, so many lives lost. Those left alive were heavy with grief, their only solace was knowing that their loved ones did not die in vain. The evil that they had stood firm against was gone now and good had prevailed for the sake of love, honour and mercy. How high the cost had been but, for generations to come, it would be worth it.

Slowly, the grounds were emptied.

Over the next few months, the faithful Hogwarts teachers rebuilt the school. Eventually, the Ministry offered its assistance once they found their feet and parents of students returned to their old school. The witches and wizards of Britain saw their school renewed, stone by stone. A project that would take muggles years, took less that three months to complete. Once again, Hogwarts was alive with the sounds of learning, of magic and students.

Many students were forced to retake their year since Death Eaters had taken over so many of the classes and, one by one, they all trickled in. Those who had survived the war like Neville, Ginny, Luna and a good majority of the DA returned to their school as if drawn to it; it was their second home where they had lived and lost, a place where they could heal their scars.

None of them were surprised when the news that Harry Potter had returned to Hogwarts flooded the corridors.


"It's him."

"Next to the ginger?"

"That's not any ginger. He's Ron Weasley!"

Harry, Ron and Hermione were huddled together in front of Gryffindor Tower's fireplace, ignoring the whispers from the students that watched them in awe. So many had heard of the Battle of Hogwarts, so many knew the role the three had played in defeating Lord Voldemort, that these three were legendary heroes whose names would live on through history. They were famous, Ron and Hermione no longer just being the friends of Harry Potter. Even Neville had some status as a celebrity in these halls, his defiance of the Dark Lord had earning him the respect of many while his defence of the helpless earned him the title Protector of Hogwarts.

Many shamefaced Slytherins had returned too, many of them having lost a parent or both to Azkaban. They were a sullen, quiet lot these days and kept mostly to themselves for who else could understand their shame, pain and humiliation like each other? It had been their house, their families, their weakness for power and no one would let them forget it. Some of them were angry, some remorseful and some were just scared. Others were tired and just so glad it was all over.

Draco Malfoy was one of these tired Slytherins, tired of the fear he had lived in for years, so very glad that it was over and that he was free or as free as he could be. His father was imprisoned, of course, along with many other Death Eaters but his mother had been spared for her part in helping Harry Potter. It was most curious how ardently Potter had fought to keep Narcissia Malfoy out of Azkaban, swearing on pain of death that she was a good woman who only sought to keep her son alive.

Malfoy was grateful.

Pale and withdrawn, even from his fellows, Malfoy kept mostly to himself and tried to ignore the hateful glares from every direction. He was quiet in class, handing his homework in on time, keeping out of trouble and finding new haunts to hide away so that people would stop bothering him. He wouldn't g as far as to say he was bullied at Hogwarts but he had a lot of students who weren't subtle about the disgust they felt towards him and his family for siding with Voldemort.

Even though every one knew, they knew, that Draco's actions had been the result of Voldemort living in his home, a strict and power-hungry father and constant fear from all sides, Hogwarts seemed to stand unforgiving in her hatred of anyone who called themselves a Malfoy. It was unjust and unfair but it seemed that no one had thought of justice and fairness, only revenge.

Except for Potter.

It was a surreal moment when Harry gave back Draco's wand and Malfoy, who had still been using his mother's wand, accepted it with silent gratitude. He was unable to say anything, either too embarrassed or too surprised to even begin to verbalise the words he should have said. Harry gave the blond a smile and, without words, reassured Draco that he understood. "I meant to give it to you earlier," Harry told his old rival, his tone lacking the hatred he had felt for the Slytherin so very long ago, it seemed. "But I never got the chance."

There was silence as grey eyes locked with green and they just stared at each other for a moment.

"I saw you, you know," Harry admitted after a while, "At the funeral. Don't worry," he added at Draco's start of panic, "no one else did. Just me."

The funeral of Fred Weasley had been on an offensively sunny day but George had been glad for it. Fred would have liked the sun. Everyone had worn the silliest thing they could find because it was what Fred would have wanted. They told jokes, people laughed and Mrs Weasley had burst into tears, clinging to her husband who could do nothing but hold her as their son was lowered into the ground. Even in their worst nightmares, they had never suspected that the twins would be parted.

Draco had attended at a distance, keeping out of view of the Weasleys. He knew that the family of red heads would never accept his presence but he knew Fred would understand why he came, why the guilt Malfoy carried with him had made him hide. Perhaps George would have understood too, had he been alone but he was surrounded by his family.

Except George would forever feel alone now.

"How did you see me?" Draco asked curiously, sure that his distance had been far enough for him to go unnoticed or, at least, ignored.

"I always see you."

Draco wasn't sure what to say to that, allowing Harry to simply walk away and leave the blond there with his old wand in hand. His mind was a whirl with thoughts, staring after Harry Potter who was joining his friends as the made their way to the Great Hall for lunch. A strange desire to join them had the skinny teen take two steps forward towards the Golden Trio but the spell broke and Draco stopped. Turning away, he replayed those words in his head over and over. 'I always see you'.


The days seemed to fly by as the year progressed and soon Halloween was just weeks away. The girls of Hogwarts were all a flutter with delight at the promise of a Halloween Masquerade where everyone was anticipating dressing up in the most outlandish monster costumes they could find or make. As a dance, everyone was expected to bring a partner. Professor McGonagall hosted dance classes for anyone who had not had the chance to learn during the Triwizard Tournament several years ago.

Many of the heroes of The Battle of Hogwarts had no trouble finding dates, each of them being swamped by admirers every time they left their Dormitories. Ron, who had been under the shadow of his brothers all his life, thoroughly enjoyed the attention but still made a very public request for Hermione to be his date. She had been irked by Ron's obvious enjoyment of other girls' attentions so the youngest male Weasley had to grovel a little before she agreed.

Neville had been equally swamped, much to his surprise, but he had asked Luna. He had babbled and stumbled over his words before finally getting the question out but he managed it, red faced and unable to look at her directly. A peck on his cheek and a soft "I'd like that" had Neville cheerful for days. It had been a crush for many of the other hopefuls as, one by one, the Heroes of Hogwarts found their dates.

Except for Harry.

It had confused the entire school when Halloween approached and Harry still had yet to as Ginny who seemed to be patiently waiting for the obvious question but it never came. Ginny was found crying in the girls toilets and the news that Harry wasn't dating the red head exploded through the halls, shocking everyone. They were supposed to be a great love, together forever and married right out of Hogwarts like both their parents' were. Apparently not.

When Harry was confronted about this by Ron, who used a few choice words that would would have surely earned him a smack about the head from Mrs Weasley if she ever heard such language from her son, all the tired saviour could do was say, "I'm sorry. I can't."

Ron didn't ask again, torn between the anger of an older brother and the sympathy for his best friend. He knew some relationships weren't made to last, just look at him and Lavender Brown, but he knew how hurt Ginny was and hated to see her suffer. With encouragement from Hermione, Ron spent more time with his sister in her time of need.

In the end, Harry never took anyone and went alone.


The great hall was decorated lavishly, cobwebs clinging to the candelabra and lit pumpkins with various patterns and faces carved into their sides. Tables of food stood to one side of the hall, the rest of the room dedicated to dancing. Glitter clung to the air, plastic spiders enchanted to move were crawling on walls while students filled the hall. Each year had a set bed time, the oldest years staying up later which earned a few protests from the first and second years.

Draco was dressed in the finest dress robes money could by, black with silver embroidery making swirled patterns along the helm and sleeves. A silver mask covered his eyes, leaving his mouth free to sample the food that the house elves in the kitchens had worked tirelessly to prepare. He had come alone; no one wanted to attend with a former death eater. He stood at the far conner, keeping out of everyone's way but that didn't stop a dark-haired young man from approaching Draco.

Even with a black mask on, Malfoy recognised those bottle green eyes but didn't say a word. He knew that, as soon as he opened his mouth, it would be obvious who was behind the silver mask so Draco remained silent. He didn't protest when Harry took his hand and lead him to the dance floor. It seemed natural for Harry's arm to hook around the blond's waist, drawing him closer, and for Draco's pale fingers to slip into Potter's warm hand as they fell into a gentle waltz. The hall seemed to fall away as the young men danced together. There seemed to be no one left in the world but them and, in that moment, Draco found himself swept away as their mouths found each other's.