Authors note: This is my first fanfiction and the first 7 chapters are written! I hope you like it, please read and review
Chapter 1
Harry Potter lay awake in his four-poster bed, finally at peace. It had been a rough few months he thought to himself as he made to get up. A searing pain ripped right through his chest, causing him to scream.
"Harry, mate, you alright?"
Harry could hear Ron fumbling with the hangings of his own bed.
In a flash, Ron stood at Harry's bedside, his eyes swollen.
"Yeah, I don't know. Is my chest bruised?" Harry asked Ron, taking off his shirt.
Ron took a deep inhale of breath.
"What? How bad is-" Harry cut his sentence short, staring down at his chest.
A deep cut ran from the top of his chest right down to his belly button. There was no blood, but a green liquid was oozing out.
Ron paled.
"How did you not know that was happening?" he asked, in barely more than a whisper.
Harry ran his finger along the cut, wincing in pain as he did so.
"You need to see Madam Pomfrey, now," Ron ordered.
Nodding, Harry stood up, swaying. He put his top back on and grimaced. Ron held him by the shoulder and led him to the door leading to the common room.
Downstairs, Hermione, Ginny and Luna were sat, teary eyed and silent.
It was Hermione who noticed the boys coming down the stairs first, and nudging Ginny in the side, stood up and went to assist Ron with Harry.
Together, they eased him into the nearest armchair. The silence of the common room was so thick; it could have been cut with a knife. Then, quite suddenly, as if in mid conversation, Luna spoke.
"You look sore Harry. Would you like me to fetch Madam Pomfrey?"
"Actually Luna, that would be great," Harry said hoarsely.
Without another glance and the foursome, Luna glided out of the room.
Ron smiled to himself, and then noticed Hermione pointing quite discretely upstairs. Finally understanding what she meant, he winked at her and head back upstairs, Hermione following close behind.
Silence engulfed the common room again, however, a more pleasurable type. Harry smiled weakly at Ginny, and that was all she needed. Ginny ran over to Harry and engulfed him in such a strong hug he felt his breath leave him.
"Ginny, ah – can't – breath," Harry spluttered out.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she said at once, letting go of him. Harry wasn't surprised to see tears forming in her eyes.
"Come here," Harry said, patting his thighs.
Ginny obliged and sat on Harry's lap, crying openly into his collar.
"Gin, calm down. Why are you crying?"
It took a while for Ginny to compose herself, but slowly, she chocked back the tears and explained:
"I'm such a bad person!"
"What? Why on earth would you be a bad person?" Harry asked, bewildered.
"I'm so – happy. But I shouldn't be. I have you back, but Fred…Fred's gone…" Ginny trailed off, crying silently still.
"Baby, Ginny, shh. I never left. I was always with you. And neither has Fred. He's here, just like Sirius and my parents and, Remus…"
It was Harry's turn to trail off. So many lives had been destroyed because of him. So many hearts broken, so many family's empty.
"You couldn't have done anything about any of it, Potter. And I will not hear another word about it."
Professor McGonagall was here, accompanied by Madam Pomfrey and Luna.
"Dear, Ginerva, I must insist you stand up. I don't believe Harry is in any state to have girls on his lap."
Madam Pomfrey bustled over and just gave Ginny enough time to get off Harry before she began to take off Harry's shirt.
As she did so, the four women in the room gasped. Harry looked down and said,
"Actually, Madam Pomfrey, I believe it's getting better," with a smirk.
Madam Pomfrey began busying herself with Harry, pulling out potions for him to drink and rubbing ointments all over his chest. Finally, she stood up and asked Harry to do so too.
Harry obliged and was surprised to see it didn't hurt him.
"Wow, the pain has just…gone."
"Well I can assure you it will be back. You'll need to drink some of this when it starts hurting," she said, handing him a vial full of a purple thick liquid, "and every hour, rub some of this on," handing him a jar with some bubbling green ointment.
"What caused that?" Ginny asked curiously, indicating to Harry's chest.
Harry quickly caught Madam Pomfrey's gaze and shook his head ever so slightly. Catching on quickly, she simply said, "a powerful spell," and with that, she left.
Silently thanking her, Harry just shrugged at Ginny, who, while not looking thoroughly convinced, did not ask questions.
"Ginerva, if you would please tell Ronald and Hermione to come downstairs, I have organised a portkey to transport you four back to the Burrow. Luna, your portkey is waiting to transport you to your father at your Uncle Wingam's house.
"Oh lovely, where's the portkey?"
"In my office, it will leave as soon as you touch it."
"Bye Harry, Ginny, I suppose I'll see you at the funerals," Luna said, dreamily as ever, and she turned on her heels and left.
Ginny stifled a sniff and left upstairs to the boys dormitory.
"Potter, while we are alone, I just wanted to first of thank you for everything you have done. You are a hero, and while you may not feel like one, you are. You have saved countless lives and for that, our world will never truly be able to repay you. I have, along with Minister Shacklebolt, organised for you and the Weasley's to have two weeks without to press. In order to give you time to grieve. However, he and I will be over at the Burrow in a few days time to have a recount of your er – adventures," she ended in a smile.
"Um, thanks," Harry said awkwardly, not knowing what to say, "how's Hogwarts looking?"
McGonagall's face fell.
"Not good, not good at all. Considerable damage has occurred to over 80% of the school. I am not sure where to go from here."
Harry was taken aback. He always thought Hogwarts would be here. A world without Hogwarts was not a world he wanted to live in.
McGonagall must have sensed Harry's dismay because she quickly said, "oh, but the rebuilding process will begin shortly and I am most certain we will open our doors again."
Hermione, Ron and Ginny reappeared and seemed eager to leave.
"I just want to see Mum," Ginny was saying.
"And rightly so," McGonagall said, turning and indicating they should all follow.
Following McGonagall, Harry realised they must be the last people left in the castle.
"Where is everyone?" Hermione asked, obviously realising what Harry had.
"Home. We are all going home for a few days to recoup, then the rebuilding starts."
At the mention of rebuilding, Harry suddenly saw how much damage the school had been exposed to.
The ceiling had fallen in the majority of places, walls seemed non existent and the floor had crumbled in some areas.
They reached McGonagall's office which had been damaged but not taken the full blow.
Filch was standing there, patting Mrs. Norris, a sad look in his eyes.
"Argus, I thought you would be home by now. The rest of the staff, they've gone."
"Hogwarts is my home," said Filch, quietly.
Understanding, McGonagall hugged him, telling him he would be able to stay while everyone was leaving.
Suddenly his face lit up.
"You mean it Minerva? I can stay?"
Smiling, McGonagall nodded, and Filch took off hugging his cat close.
"I will see you four off, then I myself shall leave. I will see you all in a few days. It will be hard, but we will get through it," she said to them all.
They each took a corner of a bit of wall that was sitting on McGonagall's desk, and with the familiar feeling of their stomach being pulled, they left Hogwarts.
McGonagall sighed. No matter what she told Harry, she wasn't entirely sure Hogwarts would ever be the same. Grabbing a piece of wood from her desk, she took one last look around then she too, went home.
Filch was sitting in his office, Mrs. Norris purring on his lap. She seemed content for the first time in years. So was he, to be honest. He was home. The danger was over and life would finally go back to normal. Oh, how he wished he hadn't been so hard on Harry over the years. If he had known then what he knew now, he would have been a bit more understanding.
Suddenly, the floor began to vibrate. The left over ceiling began crumbling and the windows shattered.
Hogwarts was collapsing.
Filch made to get up, to save himself and Mrs. Norris, but she wouldn't move. She just continued to purr, as if nothing was happening.
The night air was dark. Four figures emerged out of nowhere, watching the collapse of the once great school.
"This is it."
I hope you like it!