Follow me on Twitter for updates- HufflepuffMom82
8/2/15: Minor edits made. Will be uploading Chapter 2 soon!
8/6/15: Changed title of story from "After" to "After Hogwarts". More edits made.
8/30/15: More edits made; addressed the issue with how Harry and Ron got apparition licenses.
9/3/15: Added a new first paragraph to introduce the story better.
9/29/15: More minor edits made.

Chapter 1

The Wizarding War is over. Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived; The Chosen One, has defeated Lord Voldemort once and for all! The wizarding world is both celebrating over the victory and mourning over the loss of loved ones. As the dust settles, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, walk the grounds of the castle, talking about the Deathly Hallows; how Harry had all three at once; the Resurrection Stone, which he used to bring back his parents and mentors in what he thought were his last moments of life; the invisibility cloak, which had been passed down to him from his father, and from his father before him, for many generations; to the Elder wand, which was thought just a legend but ended up being real and true and defeated one of the most evil wizards in history.

The three friends made their way back to the castle after visiting Dumbledore's tomb, but not before Harry fixed his wand with the Elder wand; he was glad to finally have his own back. They walked to the entrance of the Great Hall, where everyone was still hanging about. Some were eating, some were getting bandaged up, and some were mourning. He glanced over at the Weasley family and his stomach dropped, remembering that Fred was gone, as well as Lupin, Tonks, and a handful of others, and it was all his fault.

"I'll meet up with you guys later. I don't think I can go in there right now," Harry said.

"Do you want-" Hermione began, but Harry shook his head, assuring her that he just wanted some time to himself. She started to argue, but Ron reached for her hand and gently squeezed it, motioned for her to follow him into the Great Hall.

He wandered the halls of the broken down castle. A sense of grief swept over him; his first real home was broken and crumbling. He knew that the simple reparo spell wouldn't be able to fix most of the damage, but he hoped something can be done and that Hogwarts wouldn't be closed for forever.

Harry wasn't really thinking of where he was walking; he just let his feet do the guiding. It was no surprise that they stopped in front of the Gryffindor common room entrance. The Fat Lady wasn't in her portrait, but the door was ajar. He walked in and took a look around.

It was a bit messier than usual, but nothing too bad. Some chairs were overturned and the fire was out in the fireplace. A simple wave of his wand and the flames roared to life. He righted a chair and sat in it next to the fire; exhaustion and hunger hitting full force. Once again he wondered if Kreacher would be able to bring him something to eat. "Kreacher.." he thought to himself. The last time he saw him was in the battle. He wasn't even sure if he was alive.

Harry took a deep breath and said "Kreacher.. are you here? Please come here if you are."

He held his breath while he waited.

After about 30 seconds he exhaled, thinking the worse.

Then, there was a loud CRACK! and Kreacher was next to him.

"Kreacher!" Harry exclaimed. "I thought you were..."

But the house elf smiled one of his very rare smiles and said, "It will take more than Death Eaters to get Kreacher down, Master Harry."

Harry smiled. "Glad to hear it. I just thought since you didn't come right away, that you were..."

"So sorry Master Harry. Kreacher was in the Great Hall, helping Mister Neville and Miss Luna with Miss Hannah's wounds. Kreacher came as soon as he was done, Master."

"Thanks Kreacher. I was hoping you were alright. After we didn't come back from the Ministry, I wasn't sure what was going to happen to you. Someone followed us and we couldn't go back... I'm sorry Kreacher."

"It's ok Master Harry. Miss Hermione told Kreacher that if something were to happen to you lot and you couldn't return, to come straight to Hogwarts kitchen where the other house elves would take him in."

"She did, did she? That Hermione, always one step ahead.." Harry shook his head. Then his stomach let out a huge growl.

"Err...do you think you'd be able to get me something to eat? I haven't had a proper meal since... well, since the last time you cooked for us."

"Certainly Master Harry. Anything in particular?" Kreacher asked.

"As long as it's hot and nothing with mushrooms or fish."

Kreacher nodded and vanished with a loud CRACK!.

Harry got up from the chair and made his way up to the boys dormitory. The room was mostly intact with his and Ron's beds nearly untouched since they never returned for school that year. There was, however, debris on his bed and a huge gaping hole above it, probably blasted by a rogue curse during the battle. Harry brushed off the debris and sat on his bed, leaning against the headboard. He looked up at the impromptu skylight and could tell that it was getting dark outside as he could see some stars twinkling to life. He yawned, rubbed his eyes from under his glasses and immediately fell asleep.

After what seemed like just a few minutes, Harry started to wake. With his eyes still closed, he realized two things; One, the smell of some sort of stew nearby and Two; there was someone curled up next to him with an arm laying across his waist. He shifted his head slightly and inhaled the scent of wildflowers. "Ginny.." he murmured. He gathered her close and fell back asleep.

"Harry."

Harry shifted in his sleep, groaning in protest of waking up.

Ginny stifled a laugh. "Harry. Wake up. It's morning. People are going to wonder if we ran away together or something."

"Hmmm... so what? That's not a bad idea, if you think about it," Harry opened his eyes to a squint and gave Ginny a smile as she poked him in the stomach.

"Very funny. Are you going to wake up and eat this stew that's been sitting next to you all night, or should I just help myself?"

Harry opened his eyes and watched Ginny get up and grab the tray of food, then sit at the end of the bed, cross legged, putting the tray between them. He reached for his glasses on the nightstand next to his bed, put them on, and sat up. "How about, we share?" he offered.

Ginny smiled "I guess that will work." She took out her wand and conjured up another spoon then helped herself.

Harry took a huge bite of the meaty stew. "Wow, I can't believe it's still hot. It's been sitting there for hours."

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "How have you never noticed that none of the food in the Great Hall ever got cold? All the bowls, plates, and goblets are charmed so that the food stays hot or cold, depending on what's in them."

Harry shrugged, taking another bite. "I dunno, I guess I never really thought about it before."

Harry and Ginny ate in silence for a few moments, enjoying each other's company. When they were done with the stew, Harry leaned back against the headboard, once again staring out the hole in the ceiling, noting that it was already bright outside and he could hear the faint sound of birds chirping in the distance.

"So.. what now, Harry?" Ginny asked tentatively, picking up the bread roll and tearing it into pieces before eating it.

Harry looked at her. "Do you mean about us?"

Ginny shrugged nonchalantly, eating another piece of bread "Yes, us. Future plans. Occupation. Living arrangements, those type of things."

Harry leaned forward, pulled her hand towards him so that she had to lean over the tray that was still between them, kissed her softly, then rested his forehead against hers. "I don't know about future plans or any of that sort yet, but I'd be nutters to ever let you go again."

Ginny closed her eyes and smiled, putting her hand on his cheek. "Yes, you would." She gave him another quick kiss then went back to eating the bread roll. "You know, we really should go back to the Great Hall though. People were wondering where you were at last night and I volunteered to go find you. I took a guess that you'd be here. Kreacher had just set the food on the table when I came into the room. You looked so peaceful while asleep, and Merlin knows you needed the rest, that I just let you be. Figured I'd get in some rest too while I was here."

Harry nodded. "We can head back once you're done with the food," he looked down at his clothes and his hands, still grimy and dirty for the night before. "Well, you can go anyways, I'm going take a shower before going back. I'm filthy."

"Glad you mentioned that, I didn't want to say anything - Hey!" Ginny laughed as Harry threw a pillow at her. "Ok, ok, I'm going." She got up and put the tray on one of the other beds. "See you in a bit?"

Harry nodded, getting up from the bed. He walked over to Ginny, gave her a kiss, then said "I'll be down soon."

Ginny smiled. "Ok." She squeezed his hand then walked out of the dormitory.

Harry watched her leave, sighed, then made his way to the showers.

Harry stood in the shower for a while, just letting the hot water wash over him. He couldn't remember the last time he had this luxury.

He heard someone come in, then Ron's voice called out "Harry? You in here? Didn't drown did you?"

Harry smiled. "Ya, I'm here, just finishing up. What's up?"

"Ran into Ginny and she said she found you and that you were heading here. Figured I'd bring you some clean clothes from Hermione's bag. I'll just put them next to your towel, ok?"

"Thanks. I guess I hadn't thought that far ahead." Harry turned off the shower, then reached for his towel to dry off then grabbed his clothes to change into. He pulled back the curtain and Ron was standing there, leaning against the wall of the room, just staring up at the ceiling.

"Ron?"

"Hmm?"

"You look exhausted mate. Did you get any sleep last night?" Harry asked, rubbing the towel on his head to get his hair somewhat dry.

Ron nodded, "A little. They brought some cots into the Great Hall last night for those who wanted to stay around. Most everyone did. A few people went home, or to Hogshead though. My Mum and Dad stayed the night, but left just a bit ago with the wizards from the Morgue...they said for us to head back to the Burrow when we're ready."

Harry tossed the wet towel onto a pile of other wet towels that were on the floor, then wadded up his dirty clothes and tossed them in a rubbish bin. He ran a hand through his hair to somewhat tame it down, even though he knew it was useless.

In companionable silence, they walked down to the Great Hall.

"Harry!" exclaimed Hermione, as she spotted him, running over to him and giving him a hug. "How are you feeling? Better?" she asked, looking at him worriedly.

Harry nodded, "I'm doing a bit better, thanks. Ended up passing out in the Gryffindor dorm and Kreacher brought me some food. Sorry if I worried anyone."

He looked around, spotting the Headmistress walking towards him.

"Mr. Potter. Glad to see you this morning. Everyone's been waiting for you to return... we all wanted to give our thanks for everything you did for the Wizarding world..."

Harry held up his hands. "Please Headmistress. It's alright, I don't need any thanks. I'm just glad it's all over, once and for all. I was wondering though, did you get Professor Snape's body from the Shrieking Shack? I want to make sure he gets a proper burial, maybe even a tomb by Dumbledore? It should be somewhere here at Hogwarts I think."

She gave him a smile. "I think that can be arranged. It may take some convincing with the Ministry, but I'm sure we can work something out. I'm curious though, how did you know he was on our side this whole time?"

"There's a memory in the pensive in your office. I left it in there. It's Professor Snape's, and it should hopefully explain everything."

McGonagall nodded "I'll take a look the next time I am able. Thank you Mr. Potter. For now though, I need to get some wizarding contractors out here to see about rebuilding this school, so that it will be open in time for next school term." She looked around, a little sadness in her and she took stock of all the damage.

"Is it fixable?" Harry wondered aloud.

"Oh yes, not to worry. It just may take time, so it needs to get started straight away." She turned to look at him, patted his arm and gave a gentle squeeze. "Oh, I nearly forgot. I have something for you, and Mr. Weasley too." She reached into her cloak pocket and procured two envelopes. "These are your Apparition Licenses. Kingsley gave them to be before he went back to the Ministry yesterday evening. Said that you two still needed them and to not worry about taking the test, but just make sure you read up on the rules, which are included with your license." She handed him the envelopes.

"Oh," said Harry, looking at the envelopes in his hands, "I nearly forgot that we needed licenses for Apparating. Thank you, Headmistress."

She gave him a smile, "I'll see you around, Mr. Potter."

Harry smile and nodded, then looked around to see who all was still here. Neville was standing by the Hufflepuff table, with Luna and his grandmother. It looked like they were saying goodbye. Harry walked over to them. When Neville looked up and saw Harry, he smiled, and gave him a hug. "Alright Harry? I think we're going to head on out. Nothing else we can really do here. Where are you going to stay while they fix the school?"

Harry nodded towards the Weasley clan that was behind them, all talking quietly. "I'm going to head back to the Burrow for a bit, then figure things out from there. Are you planning on coming back next year to finish your 7th year?"

"Gran will probably hang me up by my ears if I don't" said Nevill laughing, gesturing to his grandmother, who was talking to another witch at the entrance of the Great Hall. "Besides, Professor Sprout said that if I finish my schooling, and get good grades on my N.E.W.T.S., I can intern for her. Maybe even become a teacher here someday."

"That's great Neville! I'm still not sure if I'm coming back next year... We'll see." said Harry.

Neville put out his hand to shake Harry's. "Well, see you around, Harry."

"See ya, Neville." said Harry, as he watched Neville and his Gran walk out the Great Hall.

"Harry?" said Luna, who was standing next to him.

"Hi Luna. How are you doing?" Harry asked, giving her a hug.

"I'm well, thank you. I'm about to head home too. I miss daddy. It's been a long time since I've seen him. Hermione explained what happened, so I should probably make sure the nargles are ok. Have a good summer, alright?" She smiled, waved, and left.

Harry walked over to the Weasley family. They seemed to be comfortably talking to one another, but he could tell there was some sadness in everyone's eyes. He glanced over at George, who was the quietest of them all. He walked over to him, opening his mouth trying to come up with something to say, but all that he could muster was "George...I'm so sorry."

George gave him a quizzical look. "For what, Harry?"

"About Fred. If I had just gone out to Voldemort earlier, then maybe..."

"Stop Harry." Said George, looking angry. "Don't you dare blame yourself for Fred's death. For anyone's death for that matter. Everyone who died in battle, knew the risks of coming here to fight. Everyone was of-age. Well, mostly everyone. Some not-quite of-age kids snuck in to fight, but that doesn't matter. Everyone knew what could happen, they knew the risks." He looked squarely into Harry's eyes. "It's NOT your fault. Don't ever think that. Fred wouldn't want you to put that burden on yourself, and neither would I. Neither would Lupin, or Tonks. You just do what you deserve to do Harry. Live. Be free. For once in your whole life, you can do what you want, without having to look behind your back. Keep moving forward, ok?"

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Harry nodded. "Will do. Thanks George. What about you though? What are you planning on doing? Are you going to keep the shop open, or...?"

"Of course I'm going to very well keep the bloody shop open, are you nutters? Fred would haunt me day in and day out if I don't," George smiled somberly. "Besides, after everything that happened, and all the loss and hurt everyone has gone through, the world needs some happiness and laughter. That's why we opened the shop in the first place."

"Well, if you need anything, let me know ok?"

"You got it, partner," said, George, smiling a real smile.

Harry walked around the Great Hall and talked with other students, parents, and professors who were still around. After saying their own goodbye's, Harry and the Weasley's made their way to the front entrance of the school. Everyone was able to disapparate on their own, now that Harry and Ron had their official license, except Ginny, who had yet to learn. Harry put his arm around her shoulders, she put hers around his waist, and they disapparated together to The Burrow.