As the dust settled and the fog cleared, the devastation was unveiled. Debris was so scattered that it was unknown from where it originated from. The former castle that had once stood tall with pride and glory was now but a shell. The only bodies visible on the blood-stained fields however; were those of dark cloaked figures, left to rot for the time being by the victors of the battle held here mere hours ago. Death had not been biased against good or evil however, as made evident by the wailing in the air instead of the cheer of victory.
In the once Great Hall loved ones were gathered, holding each other tight as bodies lay carefully place before them. Not one person had a look of elation on their face. Whilst some had an expression that could only be described as relief; nobody had the energy or heart to celebrate just yet. The battle wounds; both emotionally and physically, still too raw and open.
The hero of this particular war, and his two companions were not present in the midst of all that grief. The three of them hadn't had the chance to see anybody, the too heavy emotions weighing heavy on their hearts. They only made it to an abandoned corridor which still had most of its walls still intact, before they collapsed. There they sat, leaning against one another, just as they had always done, neither asleep nor conscious of the world around them.
A small tired and sad smile slowly appeared on the man with dark hair that stood up at the oddest angles.
"It's over" he whispered.
At this his two friends shifted their heads to glance at him. A similar smile appeared on their face, though neither spoke. The silence was comfortable and all that needed to be said seemed to be communicated non-verbally.
It was a while before the boy with impossibly red hair made to stand and cleared his throat.
"I need to go to my family. I-I need to be with them. For..." his voice broke "For Fred."
No other words were needed, and even though it was unasked, all three of them made their way towards the Great Hall. The trip was silent, but they gripped each other's hands tightly and stood impossibly close as they walked, seeming to gain comfort and security from each other's presence.
As they made their way through their way through the once grand doors and through the waves of the grieving, they finally stopped besides a family with fiery red hair. All members stopped from hugging one another and turned to the new arrivals.
Mrs. Molly Weasley was the first to rush forward to them, with a heart wrenching sob.
"Ron!" Her tight arms wrapped around him quickly, which he instantly reciprocated "Ron dear, you're alright" She was crushing his ribs and not leaving much room for him to breath, but he made no noise of complaint.
As mother clung to son, Harry and Hermione stood quietly to the side. That was until the youngest red head flung herself at Harry, burying her head in his shoulder and making unintelligible sobs. Taking a second to get his balance back, Harry placed one hand on her back, and one on her hair, stroking her soothingly and whispering sweet nothings in her ear.
The remaining male Weasley's had gone back their previous positions. Hermione moved forward with the intention of the seemingly impossible task of consoling George Weasley. The poor boy looked like he had cried out every last tear his body could permit, and he now sat in some state of shock. His older brothers; Charlie and Percy knelt next to him with silent tears running down their faces. Mr. Weasley stood at the feet of a once lively Fred, looking over him but looked lost in thought, or perhaps memories of a better time. Bill and his wife Fleur stood back a bit, holding onto one another, comforting each other with kind words and soft touches.
Hermione lowered herself down opposite George. She tried in vain to try and catch his eyes, but they were unseeing. With a soft sigh she grasped one of his hands and gave it a gentle squeeze, willing to just wait till his mind came back to him; if it ever did.
She thought back to all the memories she had with the twins. While she could safely say that they weren't the Weasley's she was closest with, they were always the most fun to be around with. There was a never dull moment with them around, you never knew what to expect. Their hearts were so big and they had so much to give. She could only be grateful that only one Weasley lost tonight, but instantly felt disgusted with herself for the thought as she looked over Fred's still body.
If only everyone was still here. Lupin. Tonks. Fred. Colin. Even Lavender Brown!
George sniffled. More sound than he had made in an hour. He lifted up his head catching everyone's gaze.
"Fred, he would be...he would have hated us sitting here. Sobbing." He croaked out "He would have wanted a party." He looked down quickly as more tears sprung to his eyes "Bloody git" he mumbled as broke down.
The remaining family instantly circled the lone twin and offered him comfort and their own tears. They stayed like that for the next hour.
Slowly Ron and Hermione ascended the stairs to what had been their common room. Word had gotten to them that there were still beds there, and nothing had sounded better to them at that moment. Harry had taken Ginny up there a while before when she had practically passed out on top of him. The rest of the family decided to stay in the Great Hall where cots were being set up so they could all be close together.
As Ron and Hermione made their way to the two sets of stairs that lead to the girls and boys dormitories, they paused. Hermione quietly whispered a goodnight and went to go up the stairs to the girl's beds. Ron however, had different ideas and his arm shot out almost by reflex to grab her wrist.
"I don't want to be alone tonight" he said barely audible. He cast his eyes down, unwilling to let her see the vulnerability in his eyes.
With her free hand she lifted his chin and made warm brown meet beautiful blue eyes. She smiled softly and nodded at him as she started walking up towards Ron's usual bed.
Once in the room, they ignore a calmly snoring Harry who had Ginny curled at his side. Ron didn't even feel the need to glare or scold either of them like he would usually do. Instead he made a beeline to his bed and promptly fell on it, Hermione quickly following suit. They each had enough energy to wrap their arms around each other and moving as close as they could before they succumbed to the exhaustion.
It was darker then when she went to sleep. Not that she particularly remembers falling asleep, but she remembered it still being light when she was in the Great Hall. With that thought everything came tumbling back to her.
Fred.
Tears almost instantaneously were at her eyes, and she had to blink rapidly before she broke down again. She'd cried too much.
A warmth at her side made her realise she wasn't alone. She turned to see unkempt black hair and a smile was on her face for a few seconds. Then she felt confused, not really knowing what she should be feeling at the moment. Sighing, she moved as to not to wake the completely worn out Harry. Looking towards the side of the bed, she saw that a plate of food had been left for the both of them presumably by her mother which served to remind her that she hadn't eaten since before the battle. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she grabbed a sandwich. As she took the first bite, she swallowed thickly and let the food fall heavily in her empty stomach before moving on to eat at a more rapid pace.
Her emotions were all over the place at the moment, like most people probably. Whilst she was happy it was over, and completely over the moon that Harry was not only alive but sleeping peacefully right next to her all of that was tinged with grief. Not just grief for Fred, but for all lives lost. For all childhoods lost, for all this war took away. She didn't know what she was meant to feel.
Ginny strengthened her resolve; she wasn't a Weasley for no reason. They were stubborn and determined. Her brother hadn't died so she could mope, she would grieve and she wouldn't ever forget, but she would celebrate what he gave her and she would be damned to let anyone forget that as well.
Concentrating on the world outside her thoughts she realised that she had finished her food and that they also weren't the only people in the room, made evident by the obnoxious snoring that could only come from her brother. What she wasn't really expecting was Hermione Granger to be cuddled up next to him though. She shouldn't have been surprised really though, they had been gone for almost a year and it was bound to happen sooner or later.
A noise brought her attention away from the couple and back to Harry next to her. He was stirring, his hand reaching out for something. She realised a bit late that it was looking for her, as his emerald eye popped open.
He squinted and fixed the glasses that he had obviously forgotten to take off his face, his eyes never leaving her though. He was quiet as he just seemed to drink the sight of her in.
Finally "Hi."
Ginny frowned. "You go missing on some secret mission, go and die and then come back to life and all you say is hi?" she asked indecorously but without any real anger.
"Sorry?" He tried again, before adding "I missed you"
She sighed in defeat. "Not quite what I was looking for" pausing to gaze into his eyes for a moment "I missed you too, though"
A bright smile that almost got rid of all the darkness around them appeared on his face, so big that it was Ginny couldn't help but smile back.
"But ever think about doing that again and you'll wish you were facing Voldemort rather than me"
Harry didn't doubt it. "I wouldn't worry, I don't think I want to get out of bed for a very long time" he smiled.
A comfortable silence fell over them both. Each had a lot to say to each other, needing to make up for wasted time, but at the same time they were just happy to be in be the others company. Harry knew they needed to talk though.
His voice took on a more serious tone "Ginny..." She turned to face him fully, anxiously waiting his next words. He contemplated his next words, but simply said "I'm so...so sorry"
Her eyes hardened "Don't. Don't you even dare apologise. The...thing...that caused all this pain and death is dead and gone and that's all I could ever ask. And it's because of you. So don't ever say sorry about this again"
Harry was quiet for a moment, startled by how strong her resolve about this was. "How did I go 9 months without you?"
She looked into his caring eyes, her eyes softened and a smile threatened to tug at her lips. "I think the more important question is how you lasted with my git of a brother for that long"
Letting a smile grace both of their faces this and even a small chuckle they both fell into comfortable silence again, leaning into one another on the bed. Harry, having found the food, was munching happily next to her whilst she was content to just be next to him.
As he finished of the last crumb, Ginny spoke up again.
"So when did that happen" jerking her head towards the still sleeping couple.
Harry, who obviously hadn't noticed their company, sat up a bit straighter to get a look at them, smiling pleasantly.
"Last night" he chuckled.
"Seriously?" Ginny looked back and forth between them and Harry. "It took the risk of death for my idiot brother to decide to make a move?"
"Actually" Harry started, clearly amused "It took Ron caring about house-elves for Hermione to make a move"
"I don't get those two"
"Hmmm" Harry stretched, hearing the pop of his bones from too much abuse. "How long did we sleep?"
"Over 12 hours" Neither of them looked surprise "I need to go downstairs...help out"
He nodded and stood up, careful not to aggravate any injuries he may have. He held out his hand for Ginny to take, smiling sweetly as she took it. Letting Ron and Hermione sleep, the two of them made their way downstairs hand in hand to face the world together.
Might continue this. Might not. Just wanted to get over my creative block, but if I can find more inspiration for this, I'd be more than happy to continue. I've got ideas; them dealing with nightmares, run away deatheaters and whatnot. Please review and let me know how I can improve.