A/N: Except for a couple of OCs these characters are JK Rowling's, not mine.
Harry awoke the next morning with a start, a bright light shining in his eyes. Where was he? For a moment, he was so disoriented he couldn't remember. Was he camping in the tent on a quest for Horcruxes? Was he at 4 Privet Drive? Was he alone at King's Cross neither dead nor alive? He reached for his glasses and quickly put them on. As his eyes adjusted to the light, and his mind adjusted to being awake, he realized that he was waking up in his four poster in the boy's dormitory in Gryffindor Tower. Ron was next to him sitting cross legged on his own four poster, holding something in his hand and pushing on it repeatedly.
Harry closed his eyes as, all of a sudden, the memories of yesterday, the longest day of his life, flooded into Harry's mind. His first thought was, "Voldemort is dead!"
"I can't believe it," Harry thought. "When I woke up yesterday morning, Voldemort had two Horcruxes left. Wait, he had three Horcuxes left. Ravenclaw's goblet, Nagini, and me. I was a Horcrux also. But I didn't know I was a Horcrux when I woke up. But I was one even though I didn't know it. So it counts. So when I woke up yesterday, there were still three Horcruxes left. And now, one day later, all of the Horcruxes are destroyed and Voldemort is dead. Unbelievable. Wow! I really accomplished a lot yesterday. It sure pays to be an early riser. If I had slept till, say, noon, instead of waking up at the crack of dawn, I probably wouldn't have had time to put an end to Voldemort. Yup, the early bird sure catches the worm."
When Harry finished thinking about how much he had accomplished the previous day, it suddenly dawned on him. "Holy mackerel! Voldemort is actually dead," he thought.
Since soon after he had first learned that he was a wizard when he was 11 years old, Harry had known that Voldemort was his mortal enemy. Since he learned about the prophecy when he was 15 years old, Harry had known that one day one of them would kill the other. It felt as if Voldemort had always been part of Harry's life. And now. Finally. Voldemort was actually dead. And Harry was alive.
Yesterday, Harry had died. Or almost died. For a few minutes he thought he had been dead. He had gone to the Forbidden Forest to die. But today, he was alive. For a second, Harry had a feeling of total freedom like a gigantic weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
Then he remembered how cool he had been the previous night. Right at the end. How he had figured out that he was the true owner of the Elder Wand, and how he had slowly revealed it to Voldemort. The whole complicated story about how Draco had taken it from Dumbledore and Harry had defeated Draco, and how the whole Severus Snape-defeating-Dumbledore-thing had been fake because Dumbledore really wanted Snape to kill him, and how Voldemort had been fooled by the whole thing.
Then Harry remembered the coolest thing of all. How, in the end, he never did the killing curse on Voldemort. Harry really hated to attack people. He much preferred disarming spells like "Expelliarmus" to attacking spells. He had done the Sectum Sempra curse once on Draco when he was terrified, and Harry had been miserable about it ever since. Harry had wondered for years what would happen when he had his final battle with Voldemort. Because he really, really, really didn't want to do a killing curse. He wondered whether he was going to have to point his wand at Voldemort and say 'Avada Kadavra'. So the fact that Voldemort ended up having his own killing curse backfire, and that Harry didn't even have to attack him to finish him off, was a really cool way for the whole thing to end. Plus Harry had looked so cool in front of everyone, destroying the Dark Lord once and for all without even really attacking him. Plus, he had kind of toyed with Voldemort, like a cat playing with a mouse before eating it for dinner, letting it slowly dawn on Voldemort that Harry was the true master of the Elder Wand that Voldemort had worked so hard to find. All in all, Harry thought, he had had a pretty good day.
And then Harry remembered the rest. All the people who had died the previous day. Fifty people had died in the final battle with the Death Eaters! The thought was staggering. Tonks and Lupin were both gone. All of a sudden, Harry was so sad.
And then he remembered the Resurrection Stone. How his mother and father and Sirius and Remus had come back and accompanied him through the Forbidden Forest. He remembered how good it had felt having them all walk with him. And he started to feel a drop better for a second.
And then he thought of Snape. When he thought of Snape, Harry's head felt like it was spinning. First, he had hated Snape for years because he thought Snape was just plain mean. Then, he had trusted him for a while when he found out Snape was in the Order. Then he had hated him again during those torturous occlumency lessons. But for the last year, after Snape had killed Dumbledore, after Harry realized that Snape was really a Death Eater, an ally of the Dark Lord who had killed Harry's parents, Harry had hated Snape more than anything. And now, after hating Snape so much for so long, he had just found out the previous night that Snape had always been loyal to Dumbledore. That Snape had tried to save Harry's mother's life. That Snape had been working against Voldemort since Harry was a baby. Now he realized why Dumbledore had trusted Snape so completely when nobody else did. Because Dumbledore had known Snape's secret. The secret no one else knew. That Snape had loved Lily Potter, Harry's mother.
Now Harry's head was really spinning. The thought of Severus Snape being in love with Lily Potter was almost more than Harry could imagine. He didn't know what to feel. He didn't hate Snape anymore. He didn't exactly like him either. He kind of felt sorry for him. And he was grateful to him. And he had respect for him. Snape had worked so hard for so long to secretly protect Harry and help him and Dumbledore in the war against the Voldemort. Harry didn't really know what to think. It was all just so weird. Harry's head was spinning.
And then he remembered Fred! How could Fred Weasley be dead? Fred and George were a pair. They were always together. Fred always made everything funnier and happier. No matter how dark things got, Fred's sense of humor always cheered everyone up a little. All of a sudden Harry was really sad.
He opened his eyes again and saw Ron still sitting on his four poster pushing buttons on whatever he was holding in his hand. Harry quickly closed his eyes again pretending to be asleep. He didn't know what to say to Ron. What do you say to your best friend who just lost his brother? And Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had lost their son. Poor Mrs. Weasley! Her family was her whole life. And all of Ron's brothers had lost their brother. He remembered Percy. How Percy had come back to them at the end to fight in the great battle. And now his brother was dead. And then he thought of….Ginny.
Now Harry's head was spinning even more. He remembered telling Ginny to wait in the Room of Requirement where she would be safe, knowing that Ginny never would stay there. Ginny had come out to fight in the great battle along with everyone else. He remembered how she was when he first met her. He had been 11, she had been ten. She had been so shy; she couldn't even speak when he was in the room. Things had changed over the years. She had been little and shy. But now she had become so brave and…so beautiful. Harry remembered the end of his sixth year at Hogwarts. He remembered those few weeks before Dumbledore had died, before Harry had learned that he needed to go on a quest to destroy the Horcruxes, before he had told Ginny that he couldn't be her boyfriend in order to protect her. Those few weeks with Ginny seemed like they were so long ago. But now, he thought, things were different. Voldemort was dead. His head kept on spinning.
Harry opened his eyes again. "Why was the light so bright," he thought. Then he realized it was because he had slept so late. It was already late in the morning.
"Oh well," he thought. "I was an early riser yesterday. Today I deserved a little extra sleep."
He sat up in his bed. Ron looked up and said, "Blimey. I thought you were going to sleep all day. I've been waiting for you to wake up for hours."
"Sorry I slept so late. I'm a little bit tired. I kind of had a big day yesterday. It kind of takes a lot out of a guy, you know, killing Voldemort and pretty much dying myself," Harry said sarcastically.
When Harry said "dying" while looking at Ron, he thought of Fred again. And he knew Ron was thinking about him also. Harry wasn't sure what to say.
"Sorry about Fred, mate," was all Harry could think of saying.
"Thanks," said Ron.
Harry didn't know what to say next. They had been through so much together. And now the world was different than they had ever known it. It was better and worse than it had ever been. The war with Voldemort was over. They were all safe now. For the first time since Harry could remember, he had nothing to be scared of. But they had paid a terrible price. They had lost so many people that they loved. He remembered Mad Eye and Sirius. And everyone else. And poor Hedwig. There was so much to talk about, but Harry wasn't sure how to start. If Fred had been there, he would have broken the silence by making a joke. But…
All of a sudden, Harry noticed again the thing in Ron's hand that he had been pushing over and over again. "What's that thing you keep pushing?" asked Harry.
"Oh this," said Ron. "It's called Brickbreaker."
"What?"
"Wizard Brickbreaker. Fred and George gave it to me for Christmas. They sell it in their store. Well, I mean, they sold it in their store. Well, I mean they sold it in their store, and now, I guess, George still sells it in his store. You know what I mean."
"Yeah, I know what you mean," said Harry. "But what is it?"
"It's a game. You need to keep knocking this little ball with this paddle, and try to destroy all the bricks. You start off with three lives, but you can get more if you destroy special bricks."
"Sounds like fun," said Harry.
They stared at each other. He knew Ron and he were thinking the same thing. More lives. Three lives. Seven lives. Horcruxes. It was hard for them to just have a normal conversation, because everything reminded them of what they had just been through.
"Come on, let's get out of here," said Ron, jumping up and pulling on his robes. "I am totally starved. I've been waiting for you to wake up for hours so we could eat some breakfast. I sure hope there's something left."
"I'm sure there will be some food for us," replied Harry. "Remember, I'm a hero," he said with a smile.
"Right. And I'm the hero's best mate."
"You're a hero yourself, mate. You got the sword, and destroyed a Horcrux. And you actually figured out how to speak Parseltongue. I can't believe you did that. I don't even really know how to speak Parseltongue. With me, it just happens by itself. I can't make myself do it. But you did. You actually figured out how to speak Parseltongue enough to open the Chamber of Secrets. That was absolutely amazing."
Ron smiled, looking a little embarrassed. He really was kind of proud of himself.
"Wait a second, I just realized something," said Harry.
"What?"
"I only knew how to speak Parseltongue because I was a Horcrux. It was because a little bit of Voldemort's soul was inside me. But now that Voldemort destroyed it, I'll bet I'm not a Parselmouth anymore. I probably won't be able to talk to snakes anymore. Do you realize you're actually the only one of us who can talk to snakes?"
"Maybe I can teach you and Hermione to speak a little," said Ron sniggering. The thought of Ron teaching Harry to speak Parseltongue was kind of funny.
All of a sudden, Ron thought of Hermione. Yesterday had been a big day for the two of them also. For months Hermione had basically ignored him, still mad because he had left her and Harry during their Horcrux quest. She was really slow to forgive him. But yesterday he had said something nice about elves and the next thing he knew she was snogging him.
"Women," Ron thought. "I'll never understand them." "Come on, let's go find…everyone." Harry knew he was thinking about Hermione.
Together they went down the winding staircase. The Gryffindor common room was empty, so they headed for the Great Hall. When they arrived at the Great Hall, everyone was there. The mood was kind of mixed. People weren't exactly celebrating. Everyone had lost someone they loved the day before, and people were walking around the room talking to other people, consoling them. Harry heard lots of people saying to other people, "Sorry about so and so." But the mood wasn't exactly sad, either. Yesterday had been a great victory. Voldemort was dead. The Death Eaters were in Azkaban. The Carrows were gone. Professor McGonagall was in charge of Hogwarts. The reign of terror was over at last. Everyone was free of fear. The mood in the room was pretty good.
All of a sudden, Harry noticed something. The Hogwarts house elves were walking around the Great Hall wearing red uniforms. That was strange. All he had ever seen them wearing before was rags. He looked closer. Each elf was wearing a little badge. On the badge was the elf's name and job responsibility. One elf was wearing a badge that said, "Kitchen Worker." Another elf was wearing a badge that said, "Dormitory Cleaner." Another elf was wearing a badge that said "Classroom Organizer."
Just then, Hermione, who had been chatting with Arthur Weasley on the other side of the Great Hall, saw Ron and Harry, and came running over. "Hi guys," she said to Ron and Harry.
Ron and Hermione looked at each other for a second, feeling a bit awkward, not knowing what to do. They hugged each other for a second. Then Hermione looked at Harry, and gave him a little hug also.
"What's with the elves?" asked Harry.
Hermione's face lit up with excitement. "It's amazing! It's totally amazing!" exclaimed Hermione. "You won't believe it!"
"Won't believe what?" asked Ron.
"It's so amazing. It's the coolest thing. It's the culmination of all of my work. S.P.E.W. was a success after all."
"What happened?" asked Harry.
"I'm so excited I can hardly talk," exclaimed Hermione breathlessly. "I can't believe it! After all of my work. All of the little clothes I made and hid around the castle. All of the lectures I gave everyone about elf rights. All of the people who laughed at me, and said I was silly."
"You can't believe WHAT? Tell us already," exclaimed Ron.
"Last night, Professor McGonagall was appointed the official Headmistress of Hogwarts. And guess what her first act was as headmistress. She freed all of the Hogwarts house elves. She told me to come with her and watch. It was so cool. She marched right down to the kitchens and said, 'Hogwarts House elves, I have an important announcement to make.' Then she waved her wand and all of these uniforms appeared. She said, 'There's one for each of you. Look for the one with your name. These clothes are for you. You are all hereby free elves.'"
"What did they do?" asked Harry.
"At first they didn't do anything. Remember, house elves don't want to be free. At least they don't know they want to. Or they think they don't. You know what I mean. The thought of being free is very hard for them. But I think something changed last night when they participated in the great battle against the Death Eaters. I think it helped build up their spirits. It gave them more courage. Anyway, for what seemed like a long time, they just stared at McGonagall. Then, one of them said, 'Let's do it!' And the next thing you know, they're all running over and rummaging through the uniforms, and they each find the one with their name on it, and they get rid of the rags and put on their uniforms. They got so excited, seeing their names on the badges. They were like little kids. They'd say things like, 'I got Kitchen Worker. What did you get?'
"Then there was a little problem. McGonagall said, 'Okay, Hogwarts elves. We need to talk about your salaries.' And one of the elves said, 'Okay. We think you should pay us zero.' McGonagall groaned. So they had a little negotiation. McGonagall suggested 20 galleons a week, and the elves suggested 2 galleons. They went back and forth. McGonagall wanted to pay them more. They wanted to get less. Finally, they agreed on 15 galleons a week.
"So then they talked about vacation time. McGonagall proposed that they get four weeks of vacation a year. One of the elves responded, 'How about if we get zero vacation.' All the other elves agreed and yelled, 'Yeah! That sounds great. Zero vacation!' McGonagall groaned again. Finally, they agreed on three weeks of vacation a year.
"They all want to stay and work at Hogwarts. They're going to get their own rooms with beds and everything."
Harry and Ron watched Hermione who was more excited than they had ever seen her. They just grinned and didn't say anything.
"What are you guys smiling about?" she asked.
They just kept on grinning.
"This is truly amazing," said Harry.
"Unbelievable," said Ron.
"The culmination of your life's work, and you're only 17," said Harry.
"You guys are making fun of me," said Hermione, starting to scowl.
"No, we're just teasing," said Ron. "It is pretty amazing. You really made a difference. I'm proud of you."
Now Hermione was beaming.
"Don't you all go and start snogging now," said Harry. "We haven't even eaten breakfast yet."
All of a sudden Harry noticed Kreacher standing all by himself looking glum. Kreacher was still wearing his rags. Harry caught his eye, and Kreacher quickly looked away.
"What's with Kreacher?" asked Harry. "Why is he still wearing rags?"
Hermione just stared at Harry waiting for him to figure it out. All of a sudden, Harry realized. Kreacher wasn't a Hogwarts house elf. As headmistress, McGonagall could set the others free, but Kreacher belonged to….Harry. Only he could set Kreacher free.
Harry ran across the room to Kreacher, who looked up at him, and started bowing. "Good morning, master. Did you sleep well, master? You did an amazing thing yesterday, master. Are you hungry, master? Can Kreacher bring you some breakfast, master?"
Harry looked around. All he was wearing was his robe. Ron and Hermione came running up. Harry looked at them. They were just wearing robes also. He looked all around. He wanted to do this fast. It didn't seem fair for Kreacher to remain a slave for even another second. Finally, he thought of something. He remembered how he had freed Dobby almost five years earlier. Harry pulled out his wand and cried,"Accio a pair of my socks." Harry thought again, and waved his wand, adding: "Make it a clean pair of socks this time."
Harry looked at the door to the Great Hall waiting for a pair of socks to come flying through the door. Nothing happened. Harry had a puzzled expression on his face. Then Hermione reminded him: "Harry, we didn't go to Hogwarts this year. Remember? None of our things are here. You don't have any clothes up in Gryffindor Tower."
Harry looked at Neville, who had come over to see what was happening a few moments earlier when he had seen Harry running across the room. "Neville, do you mind?" Harry asked.
"I'd be honored," Neville answered.
"Okay, then," said Harry raising his wand again. "Accio a pair of Neville Longbottom's clean socks."
A moment later, a pair of Neville's socks came flying into the great hall landing gently in Harry's hand. Harry reached out and handed them to Kreacher, and said solemnly: "Kreacher, I present to you these clothes. You are a free elf."
Kreacher burst out crying and starting screaming, "Thank you, master. Thank you, master. Thank you, master."
"I'm not your master anymore. Just call me Harry."
"Okay, mast… Harry'."
"So Kreacher, now that you're a free elf, what are you going to do?" asked Ron.
There was a long pause. Kreacher had been a slave for so long, it was hard for him to think. He had hated his master Sirius. He had loved his master Harry. But he had always had a master. He had no idea what a free elf was supposed to do.
Hermione's eyes brightened. "Wait here a second," she said. Hermione ran across the Great Hall to do something while the others waited.
"Neville, you were amazing last night," said Harry.
Neville smiled a little sheepishly. He knew how brave he had been, but he didn't want to seem too cocky. "Yeah, I had a moment there," he said. "But did you see my gram!" he exclaimed. "She was amazing. A witch her age dueling with three death eaters at the same time! And beating them!"
"You do have one cool gram," said Ron.
All of a sudden, Hermione came running back to the group, her bushy hair flying behind her and a big smile on her face. "Kreacher," she said. "When Dobby became a free elf…"
As she mentioned Dobby, Hermione got choked up and stopped talking. She just remembered that Dobby had died saving her life. Everyone else remembered Dobby too, and they all got very quiet. Everyone was so happy that the war with Voldemort was finally over, but they also kept remembering all the people who had died along the way, all the suffering Voldemort had caused. They also realized that this was going to keep happening, that as much as they felt joy because their future was looking hopeful, that they would also never forget all the terrible things that had happened before.
"I guess we're all having what they call double dip feelings," said Ron.
Hermione stared at Ron, a look of disbelief on her face.
"What are you staring at me for?" he asked.
"This is the first time I ever heard you use the word 'feelings,'" she said with a laugh. "I didn't think you even knew what the word meant."
"I don't think he really does," laughed Harry. "I think he just saw a book called Double Dip Feelings in the library once. And he remembered the title because Double Dip reminded him of ice cream, and he's always hungry."
"If you guys are done making fun of me," said Ron with a pretend frown, "someone's waiting."
They all looked at Kreacher, who was staring at Hermione with his eyes wide and his mouth open, waiting for her to finish.
"Right," said Hermione. "Anyway, as I was saying. When Dobby became a free elf, he got a job working at Hogwarts. How would you like to work at Hogwarts also?"
"Really?" cried Kreacher. "Could Kreacher do that? That would be great! Kreacher would love to do that! What could Kreacher do? What would Kreacher's job be? Kitchen Worker? Classroom Organizer? Dormitory Cleaner?"
"That's the best part," said Hermione. "I just spoke to Professor McGonagall about you. I explained how smart you were, and how you helped in the war against Voldemort. So she decided to give you a special job. It's a new job they've never had before at Hogwarts. You are going to be 'Headmistress's Elf.' That means you get to work directly for the headmistress and do special assignments for her. How does that sound?"
"Really?!" cried Kreacher.
"Yup."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, Hermione! Kreacher will never be able to thank Hermione enough."
"You deserve it, Kreacher," said Ron.
"If you want the job," said Hermione, "go over to Professor McGonagall and tell her."
So Kreacher ran across the room to where McGonagall was having a conversation with some of the seventh years. "So, what do you think, Kreacher?" she asked. "Do you want to be the "Headmistress's Elf?"
"Kreacher accepts!" shouted Kreacher.
"Okay, then we need to talk about your salary," said McGonagall.
"Okay. Kreacher has an idea," said Kreacher. "Pay Kreacher zero galleons."
McGonagall laughed. "How about if we pay you 20 galleons a week?" she said.
"That's way too much," said Kreacher. "How about one galleon per month?"
McGonagall laughed again. "This is a most unusual negotiation," she said in her high pitched voice. "Listen, Kreacher. We are not going to negotiate any more. We are going to pay you 15 galleons a week and give you three weeks of vacation a year. That is our final offer. Take it or leave it!"
"Yes, mistress. Okay, mistress. Kreacher accepts, mistress."
"Please just call me "Professor," said McGonagall with a sigh. She waved her wand, and all of a sudden Kreacher was dressed in his own little red uniform. On his chest was a shiny badge that said "Kreacher" and underneath it was written "Headmistress's Elf."
Kreacher looked down at his uniform and his badge. He was so happy he looked like he was about to burst. Finally he could stand still no longer and leapt up into the air flying close to the ceiling of the Great Hall and then flipping over ten times on the way down, landing softly on his feet in front of McGonagall. Then he saluted her and said, "At your service, Headmistress. What should Kreacher do first?"
"Today is a day of celebration," she said. "Go have some fun." And she turned on her heels and walked away.
Kreacher just stood staring at McGonagall, frozen. He had a strange expression on his face. "Kreacher, what's the matter?" asked Harry.
"Maste… er…Harry. Professor McGonagall just ordered Kreacher to have...fun. But… Kreacher…." Kreacher stopped in the middle of his sentence, looking very upset.
Hermione walked over to him and put an arm around him. "Poor Kreacher. You don't know how to have fun, do you? You've never had fun before."
Kreacher burst out crying, and started to wail: "Hermione put her arm around Kreacher. Hermione comforted Kreacher. Nobody ever comforted Kreacher before."
All of a sudden, Luna, who had walked over a few minutes earlier and joined the group, said: "Come on, Kreacher. " She took Kreacher's hand. "A bunch of elves over there seem to be organizing a game of elf hide 'n go seek. Why don't you go join them, and you'll learn a little bit about having fun." The two of them walked away together.
"Come on, I'm starved, let's eat!" cried Ron, and Hermione, Harry, Neville and Ron found four empty seats at one of the long tables. Without thinking about it, they sat down at the Ravenclaw table.
All of a sudden, Harry realized he was sitting on a different side of the room than he had ever sat in before and realized he was sitting at the table of a different house. He looked around the room. "Guys, look around you," he said. "What do you notice?"
Ron, Hermione and Neville looked around the room, and they all realized at the same time that people weren't sitting at their own house tables. There were Slytherins at the Gryffindor table, Ravenclaws at the Hufflepuff table, Hufflepuffs at the Slytherin table. Everybody - the students from the different houses, the professors, the parents, the members of the Order - everyone who had been there for the great battle the night before were all just sitting together wherever they felt like sitting. "This is truly an amazing day at Hogwarts," said Hermione.
Within seconds, their plates were piled high with warm buttered toast, eggs, kippers, grilled tomatoes, wizard waffles, breakfast biscuits and fresh fruit, and their mugs were filled with ice cold milk. Ron started shoveling food in his mouth so fast it started to pour out faster than he could chew it. Hermione winced in mock disgust, while Harry just laughed. "That's our boy," said Harry.
Hermione didn't answer, and just kept looking at Ron. Harry was watching Hermione who was watching Ron. Neither of them said anything. Ron just kept shoveling food into his mouth. Finally, he looked up and noticed Hermione gazing at him. "Why er ou ooking a me?" he tried to say his words all garbled as he tried to talk with his mouth stuffed with food. Hermione just smiled, and said, "Ron, would you please swallow what's in your mouth as quickly as possible?"
"Why?"
"Just please hurry,' she said.
So Ron chewed and chewed until he swallowed everything in his mouth, and he wiped the extra food from around his lips with a napkin. "So, what's up?" he said.
Hermione didn't answer, but grabbed Ron, pulled him close to her and starting kissing him the way she had the day before.
"Hermione! My whole family is here! My parents!"
"I couldn't care less," she answered, and she grabbed him and they were snogging again. All of a sudden there was applause throughout the Great Hall. Everybody was clapping for them. Hermione and Ron looked up a little sheepish. Across the room, they saw all the Weasleys, sitting together at the Slytherin table, applauding along with everyone else. Ron's ears turned bright red.
"Maybe you guys should take this somewhere else," said Neville.
Ron and Hermione looked at each other. Ron looked back at his plate, still filled with his breakfast. Hermione glared at him. Ron shrugged, grabbed Hermione's hand, and the two of them ran out of the Great Hall together.
Just then, Neville's grandmother walked up to the table and said, "Neville, there's someone I want you to meet."
Neville walked away with his grandmother, leaving Harry sitting at the table by himself. Harry looked down at his plate of food. All of a sudden, he was alone with his own thoughts again as he had been when he first woke up that morning. Thoughts of everything he had been through came rushing at him. The largeness of everything that had happened was so immense, he didn't know what to think about first. He looked back up at the Weasleys sitting together on the other side of the room. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, George, Charlie, Percy, Bill, and … Ginny.
Just then, Ginny looked up and they caught each other's eye. For a moment they just looked at each other across the room. Harry's head was spinning again. This was the first time he had looked into Ginny's eyes since Voldemort had died. She looked exactly the same, and yet it felt totally different. Harry's mind flooded with memories. How she had a crush on him when they first met and he just thought of her as Ron's little sister. How later he had been jealous watching her snogging other guys. How he had been afraid of what Ron would say, and how Ron had given him that "If it has to be someone it might as well be you" look. Those last few weeks of sixth year when for just a while everything had been perfect. How he had broken up with Ginny to protect her. And then he remembered the birthday present Ginny had given him when he turned 17 so he wouldn't forget her. It was the best kiss he had ever gotten, and he had never forgotten it. Then he remembered how Ron had been angry that day. Then Ron wasn't just being a silly older brother. He had really been trying to protect Ginny. Ron didn't want Ginny to get hurt. But… now…everything was different than it had ever been before. And again Harry felt the gigantic weight lift off of his shoulders. He was truly free for the first time.
Without planning to, all of a sudden Harry was smiling across the room at Ginny. More than smiling, he was beaming from ear to ear. He had been a swirl of emotions since he woke up that morning, but now he was feeling only one: happiness. As he smiled at Ginny across the room, he realized that he was feeling happier than he had ever felt before. The only time he could remember feeling this happy was the first time he had kissed Ginny. But even that time his happiness had been mixed with the feeling of dread, of anxiety, that had always been part of him, with his knowledge of the terrible destiny that lay before him. Now his happiness felt peaceful. The most peaceful, happy feeling he had ever known. He smiled at Ginny and kept looking into her eyes feeling that he never wanted to look away. Ginny kept looking back at Harry for what felt like an eternity even though it was really only a second or two.
"What is she thinking about?" Harry wondered. "She's just been through her own nightmare. She just lost her brother. I wonder what she's thinking."
And then Ginny's lips started to move, and she broke out into the biggest smile. As Harry looked into her eyes, he could tell that she was experiencing the same feeling of happiness that he was, and Harry's heart leapt for joy.
Harry stood up. So did Ginny. Harry started walking across the room toward Ginny, while still looking into her eyes, his smile never leaving his face. Ginny started walking across the room toward Harry, grinning ear to ear, her eyes never leaving his.
Ow!" yelled Harry and Ginny and five other people all at the same time, as there were crashing sounds from both ends of the room. Since Harry and Ginny had been staring into each other's eyes, they hadn't been looking where they were going. Harry had crashed into the Gryffindor table, and Ginny had crashed into the Slytherin table, knocking platters and goblets and pitchers in every direction landing on a few heads, laps and feet. "Oops," they both cried at the same time as they got up from the floor. They looked at each other again across the room, and they both burst out laughing.
Harry pointed to the door of the Great Hall with his eyebrows raised as if asking her a question. Ginny nodded. And at the same time, they both ran from two sides of the room meeting at the door. They stopped at the door, looking at each other for a moment. Then they noticed the room had grown quiet. They turned back to face the crowd and realized that everyone was just staring at them. Watching. Waiting.
"Should we give them a show?" asked Harry.
"Nah," said Ginny.
Harry reached for her hand. Ginny took it in her own. Her hand felt so warm and comfortable in Harry's. And holding hands together, they walked out of the Great Hall.
