He was the hero. It was always the first word people used when describing him. He had saved the wizarding world from a horrible fate at the hands of a madman obsessed with blood and power. He had defeated the dark lord twice and he had cheated death. He'd battled giant snakes, dementors, horcruxes, and death eaters and he had won. Harry Potter was the chosen one; he was the boy who lived.

Harry Potter was also the boy who lost. He had lost his parents before he'd even gotten a chance to know them. He had lost his godfather to a madwoman whom Harry hadn't had the heart to kill in vengeance. He had lost his mentor, headmaster, and friend to a villain who turned out to be a true hero in the end. Harry Potter was the boy, now turned man, who still suffered from the nightmares that the war had caused.

It was always the same nightmare. Harry would open his eyes and he would be back at the ruins of Hogwarts during the final battle. He'd be holding his wand ready to cast the final spell at Voldemort when the dark lord would disappear, only to be replaced by the ghosts of all the people he'd lost.

"Its all your fault Harry" His mother and father would whisper sadly, looking at him in disappointment.

"Why didn't you save me Harry?" Cedric would ask with a confused and sad expression.

"Why did you believe Voldemort's lies Harry?" Sirius would ask him with arms crossed and a cold expression. All those who had died in the war would call out accusations.

"Why didn't Harry Potter protect Dobby?" The house elf would cry out with tears running down his little face.

Tonks and Remus would ask him how he could have let them die and orphaned their poor son Teddy. Fred Weasley would scream at Harry, yelling about how broken and alone George felt with Fred gone. All the students who died would blame him for their deaths as well. Colin Creevey, Lavender Brown, Vincent Crabbe, and many others would cry and scream. Harry would fall to his knees and beg their forgiveness. He would try and tell them how hard he had tried, how he hadn't wanted anyone to die but they never listened. But that wasn't the worst part. Over the screams of the ghosts, Harry would hear three voices crying out.

"Dad! Help us!" James, Severus, and Lilly would scream as the dead grabbed them and dragged them away.

"No!" Harry would cry out and he would try to run to his children but he couldn't move. The mysterious veil from the department of mysteries would appear and the spirits began to drag his children down, preparing to throw them in as punishment for their deaths.

"No! Take me! It's my fault it's my fault. LET THEM GO!"

"Harry? Darling wake up, you're having a bad dream." Ginny Potter gently shook her husband awake. Harry woke up with a start looking around for his children before realizing he'd been dreaming again.

"You're ok, the kids are safe, and we're all safe." Ginny whispered softly as she rubbed his back.

"It's all my fault Gin, I couldn't save them. Any of them. I was supposed to be a hero but I let them die, I..." Gin cut him off with a sharp look and then sighed. She stopped rubbing his back and placed both her hands on his cheeks, bringing his face close and resting her forehead against his.

"Harry James Potter you listen to me and you listen well. Those deaths were not your fault. Everyone that chose to fight that day knew the risks. We all knew that by choosing to fight along side you, there was a chance that we could die but we still chose to fight. Do you understand? We made that choice; you didn't make anyone fight for you Harry. Everyone who took up their wands to defend Hogwarts against Voldermort chose to do so of their own free will. Those deaths are on the hands of the death eaters, not on yours. Ok?" One of Ginny's hands left Harry's cheek to stroke the back of his neck. Harry nodded gently and smiled at his wife.

"Daddy? Mummy?" Ginny and Harry looked up to see a small pale figure in a white nightdress.

"Lilly why are you up? Is something wrong?" Ginny asked looking at her daughter with concern.

"I had a bad dream. Can I sleep with you and daddy?" Harry and Ginny looked at each other and smiled. "Of course you can sweetheart." Harry told Lilly as he climbed out of bed and walked over to his little girl. Harry picked Lilly up and placed her down in the center of his and Ginny's bed. Lilly was soon cuddled into her mother, with her back facing Ginny's chest. Ginny had her arms around Lilly while Harry had his arms around Ginny. Harry looked down at his daughter.

"Lilly?"

"Yes daddy?"

"What made you so scared?" Lilly looked up at Harry and whispered in a very little voice "James told me and Hugo about the giant snake who lives at Hogwarts. He said that it lives in the girls bathroom and that it likes to eat first years. Does it really eat first years daddy?" Harry made a mental note to have a talk with his eldest son in the morning. He looked gently down at Lilly and smiled.

"No, poppet. There's no giant, first year eating snake at Hogwarts and if there was I promise I'd keep you safe, ok?" Lilly smiled at her father

"Ok daddy. Good night, I love you." "I love you to poppet." Harry Potter then closed his eyes and went to sleep. All was well.