A/N This is my first Harry Potter fic, so please review!

Disclaimer: none of the characters belong to me.

Chapter 1

The day after the final battle found Harry hiding in the scorched Room of Requirement. He had been surprised and grateful to see that the room still worked, only the scorch marks on the walls hinted at what had taken place. The room had probably sensed how tired he was and was currently a small bedroom with a bed that looked heavenly compared to what Harry had been sleeping on the past year. There was even a trunk placed in front of the bed that Harry had put his meager belongings in.

Harry could not get his mind to shut off. He knew there would be people looking for him, but he had no intention of being paraded around for a celebration while the feeling of death still hung over Hogwarts. He felt a strong pang of sadness and guilt as he thought about the last link to his parents, Remus, his wife Tonks, and Fred, the twin prankster. How many others dead because of me? He thought. When he had asked that question earlier to Kingsley (who had become the unofficial head of the order after Dumbledore's death) he had been told to not worry about that. Like I am a child, Harry thought bitterly, does he have any idea what I have been through this past year, without the Order. I will not let them treat me like a child they can keep in the dark, not anymore. Harry also did not want the new Ministry to declare him some kind of savior to the wizarding world. I just want to be left alone…

I thought about being an auror, but I don't know how I can keep fighting, killing, after this war. I'm sure the new Ministry will want "The-Boy-Who-Killed". Maybe then people would forget how utterly they failed in protecting them….

However, Harry did not want to be a figurehead for the Ministry. This lead him to think about his next steps. He suddenly realized he had nowhere to go. He didn't know where the Dursley's had gone, and he sure as hell didn't want to find them. Ron and his family had left last night with Fred's body to grieve in the privacy of the Burrow. Ron and Ginny had barely even looked at him when he left…I deserve whatever they think of me, he thought guiltily, Fred is dead because of me. Hermione had left shortly after to retrieve her parents, and hopefully they would forgive her for erasing their memories. He had Grimmauld Place, but it wouldn't be safe because he was sure all the Death Eaters knew exactly where it was now. He knew they probably hadn't captured all of Voldemort's followers yet.

Harry sighed, Maybe McGonagall will let me stay here, and help clean up Hogwarts. Hogwarts had always been his home, but he knew he could not stay here indefinitely. With that thought, Harry finally drifted to sleep.

He woke with a start, sitting up quickly before remembering where he was. His dreams had not been pleasant, vague shadows whispering and dancing through his mind plagued him. Thankfully however, he did not dream through Voldemort's eyes anymore. Harry hopped off the bed and opened his new trunk. He did not know what today would hold for him, but he knew he couldn't keep himself locked in here. He rummaged through the trunk to find his clothes, when he stopped in shock. At the bottom of his trunk was a familiar stone and wand.