AN: So I apologize now before this begins. This is my first multi-chap. fic, so we'll see how this goes! Thanks for reading! Warning: graphic, but that's in later chapters. There will be exploration of dark themes, but I promise a happy ending. Ron-bashing ahead. Sorry if you like him. I do, too, but this is how this fic will go. Please read and review! Also, I own nothing. All character's are JKR's!
Chapter 1
It wasn't easy, but when had recovery after war ever been simple? Most of the funerals for the deaths from the Final Battle were completed by the end of the month. Everyone respected the departed. The Golden Trio were hailed as heroes, but even the best fell hard. Harry still had night terrors of it all. Every night he watched the color drain from all of the deceased's faces, no matter their side. Every death affected Harry the same way. Hermione had them, too, but her worst nights were spent reliving the torture in Malfoy Manner. Bellatrix's face plagued her even when awake. Ron found a coping mechanism early on that he used to deal with his suffering. Instead of worrying about thinking, Ron chose to block his thoughts. The first night after the battle he drank himself into a stupor and had repeated the process every night since.
Hermione went to search for her parents, but could not find them in the short time she could travel away from England. She put on a brave face, but she cried more at night after she returned. She couldn't stay gone long. She didn't want to upset Ron any more than she had to. She felt obligated to be there with him through it all, especially after their kiss in the Chamber of Secrets. They were in a relationship after all. Ron needed her at this time, and she thought she needed him too.
Hermione mentioned going to search for her parents, but Ron said she shouldn't leave. There was just too much going on in England for her to travel. They had gotten into a pretty bad fight after that. Ron felt she couldn't handle it alone, and obviously Hermione didn't take it well. She yelled at him and tried to put him in his place. Usually that's how fights between them went, but tonight's fight was different: Ron had already started drinking for that night.
Ron yelled back and pushed her against the wall to pin her in place while he "explained" to her that she was weak and needed protection from a man. If she would have listened to him, her protector, before they ran into the snatchers then she wouldn't have been tortured by Bellatrix. Now, usually Hermione would have called him out on that HUGE stretch, but at the mention of Bellatrix's torture, Hermione suddenly relived all of it in her mind after carefully suppressing those very memories each and every morning that she changed her bandages. Needless to say, that night ended very badly.
Everyone was at the Burrow for now. Molly enjoyed having a full house to keep her mind off of the loss of Fred. Even Bill and Fluer had come to stay for a couple of weeks to help Molly. Molly was quite resilient. She took care of the rest of her family and tried to help everyone remember the better times before the war.
George didn't take things well at all, but slowly he was returning to his old ways. He opened the joke shop back up to help the rest of Wizarding London overcome the sadness that followed the war.
Hogwarts had been magically repaired shortly after the war ended to house anyone who had nothing to return to. The school even send letters inviting the students back for the next school year. All previous seventh year students were asked to return to finish out their NEWTS. Every student would repeat their last year, seeing as Hogwarts was not run with the students' education in mind. The seventh year students were not required to go back. They had actively fought in the war and were already of age. Some were already taking employment because most places weren't requiring NEWTS to try to replace all of the open positions.
Students like Hermione were guaranteed to return, but some jobs still required NEWTS to get the job, such as aurors. They wanted to make sure their new recruits were well equipped and educated to handle any situation. That was the only reason Harry was returning. Ron complained that winning the war should be proof enough, but he finally relented to where he could be an auror with Harry.
Of course Hermione had been asked to be the Head Girl and she was excited. Ron was peeved that Hermione wouldn't be in Gryffindor Tower anymore, but he was okay with her getting her own room. Now he just had to figure out who the stupid Head Boy would be so he knew who to scare.