It was the silence that woke him. Living on the run for almost a year had trained his brain to be prepared for the small sounds of the outdoors. The young man opened his eyes and quietly sat up.
It took a moment for Harry Potter to realize where he was. Dark curtains hung around the comfortable and familiar four-poster bed. With a start, he realized he was back in Gryffindor tower, in the bedroom he shared with his classmates. With that realization, the memories of the past day flooded back into his mind. They overwhelmed him as the realizations crashed over him.
Voldemort was gone, really gone. Harry didn't have to fear for his life anymore. The war was over. He should have felt elated or overjoyed at the thought of it, but instead the victory was bittersweet. So many lives had been lost for his cause. Fred was gone. So were Lupin and Tonks, Colin Creevy, and so many others. Could the Weasleys forgive him for what he had done to their family? Harry wouldn't blame them if they couldn't. What about little Teddy Lupin? Could he love a godfather that played a part in his parent's deaths? The grief over lost friends and broken futures weighed heavily on his heart.
A sudden snore brought him back to reality. Harry ruefully grinned at the sound, remembering how loud Neville was while he was sleeping. Pulling aside the curtains, Harry reached for the side table, fumbling in the dark for his moleskin pouch and glasses. His vision cleared as he put on his glasses, and he began digging in his pouch. Retrieving the battered, old pocket watch, he glanced at the time by the dim light of the moon; it was just after four in the morning.
Now that the curtains were pulled back, Harry got a proper look around the room. The beds were all filled, curtains closed. He could hear Neville, and he saw Ron's bag next to his bed. He assumed that Seamus and Dean were here as well. Although they missed their last year at Hogwarts, the boys were together one last time.
Harry swung his feet around to the side of the bed. He knew that he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. Too many thoughts were running through his head. Trying to pushing them out, he busied himself gathering up his things. His rucksack lay beside the bed where he left it last night. On the nightstand, he saw a small stack of freshly laundered clothes. Harry recognized Kreacher 's handiwork. Picking up the pile, Harry's hand brushed across the three wands that lay next to it.
Closest to him was his holly and phoenix feather wand, now marred with a faint scar on it's surface marking where he had magically repaired it. Next to the holly wand was the hawthorn wand. He had taken it from Draco Malfoy weeks ago, thereby winning the wand's allegiance. This was the wand that he had used against Voldemort. Beside to the hawthorn wand was the Elder wand. This was the wand that Voldemort had looted from Dumbledore's tomb to use against Harry. Only by pure luck or fate, Harry had managed to win it's allegiance first, by disarming Draco, who had previously disarmed Dumbledore on the night of his death.
Harry paused, looking at these three wands. They all felt right against his hand, like they were some natural extension of his arm. Slowly, he closed his hand around the holly wand. It felt warm in his hand. He remembered what Ollivander had told him all those years ago: "The wand chooses the wizard". Here was the wand that had chosen him, not a wand he had won. It was his wand. The familiar feeling of it in his hand was comforting, like greeting a friend after the return of a long journey. The wand had been his first link to the magical world, and holding it brought a small measure of peace.
Harry glanced down at the other wands. He was not sure what to do with the hawthorn wand, but he knew what needed to be done with the Elder wand. It must be restored back to it's proper place, back in the tomb with Dumbledore. Now seemed as good of a time as any. With everyone asleep, no one would see what Harry was about to do.
He began to pull on the clean clothes, wincing as his bruised and battered body moved against the fabric.. A large black bruise was beginning to form on his chest where Voldemort's Killing Curse had hit him in the woods. His arms were covered by more bruises, dirt, and scabbed cuts and scrapes. Harry had avoided medical attention yesterday, arguing that his injuries were less severe than others. His muscles groaned in protest as he pulled a shirt over his head.
Reaching down into his rucksack, Harry pulled out his invisibility cloak. Despite all that it had been through in the past years, and especially the past day, it still seemed perfect. Of course, it was one of the legendary Hallows, so Harry did not expect anything less. He picked up the Elder wand and his holly wand, and silently left the dorm room.
Harry was expecting the common room to be empty. To his surprise, Ron and Hermione were asleep on the couch in front of the fire, Ron's head in Hermione's lap. Harry smiled as he remembered that not everything that happened yesterday was tragic. His two best friends had finally managed to act on their feelings for each other. It had been a long time coming. Harry tried to walk past them quietly, but bumped his foot against a pile of rubble, causing a small slide of debris. He swore under his breath, holding his foot.
Hermione's head perked up and looked around. After a moment she whispered "Harry? Is that you?"
Harry froze, not wanting to disturb his friends' rest. Hopefully she would just think that it was just the sound of damaged castle settling.
However, Hermione was not fooled. She sat straighter and continued to look around the room, focusing by the pile of rubble. "Harry, I know you're here. What are you doing?" she asked.
Ron stirred in his sleep, mumbling " 's alright 'Mione?" Hermione glanced back down at him, her face softening slightly. With a sigh, Harry pulled off the cloak.
Hermione looked him over once, and then gently nudged Ron's shoulder. "Ron. Wake up. Harry's here."
Ron groaned, and blinked his eyes open. They fell on Hermione's face, and his own face broke into a wide grin. He was evidently remembering yesterday as well. He sat up, noticing Harry standing over by the stairs to the dorm. Stretching his arms up, he yawned "Wha... What's going on?"
Hermione's eyes flitted to Ron, and then quickly back to Harry as if he was going to disappear under the cloak. "I heard something, but I couldn't see anything. I assumed that Harry was under his cloak trying to sneak out."
Ron nodded at her, and turned to Harry. "You weren't thinking of sneaking off, were you, mate?"
Harry frowned at them "What? No! I was just... going for a walk, that's all."
"Harry, come on. What are you really doing?" Hermione asked, her eyebrows narrowing.
"Ok." Harry glanced around, making sure there was no one else in the room. Confirming that they were alone, he continued. "I was going down to Dumbledore's tomb. I was going to reseal it and place the Elder wand back in there. I didn't want anyone else to know, just in case someone wanted to take it again."
Hermione looked somewhat surprised and shared a sheepish look with Ron. "Oh," she said "We thought you might be trying to sneak out of the grounds to get away, so we waited down here. We didn't want you to sneak off alone."
Harry shook his head and slowly smiled. "I just can't get rid of you lot. Alright, let's go." One last late night adventure before leaving Hogwarts sounded fitting to Harry.
Soon the three of them were crossing the grounds together under the cloak. They were too tall for it, especially Ron, so their feet and some of their legs were visible. However, this didn't matter as there was no one to see them. Everyone seemed to be either in bed or out patrolling the boundaries of the castle. They skirted past broken trees and crumbled rubble, guided by the waning light of the moon. The castle looked as bad as Harry felt. Numerous scars and blast marks from spells pockmarked the ancient stones. Countless windows were shattered and there were many holes in the walls.
Soon, they were nearing the White Tomb. A cool breeze drifted across the lake towards them, casting the moonlight about the shore and gently pulling at the cloak as Harry pulled it off of them. Quietly, they approached the last resting place of their mentor. They stopped a few paces away. Harry heard Hermione gasp as they were able to view what had happened.
The case of the tomb was cracked and broken down the center. Each piece had slid onto the ground, exposing body inside to the elements. The burial cloth that had surrounded Dumbledore was gone, leaving the corpse wrapped in only a cloak of dark blue. Harry was suddenly taken back to the night when Dumbledore died, his body splayed at the base of the tower. Harry felt his eyes begin to fill with tears as he remembered.
He turned as he heard Hermione began to sob. Ron had drawn her into a tight embrace, twisting her away from the sight. Ron's hand clumsily stroked her brown hair. Ron's eyes were closed, and Harry suspected his friend was holding by tears as well.
Harry gathered himself together and drew the Elder wand. Waving it, he levitated the two halves of the cover together and repaired them. They sealed together seamlessly, not showing a sign of the destruction that had occurred. Harry marveled at the power of the Elder wand. He knew that he normally could not have done that all by himself.
Harry stepped forward, and paused above the tomb. If he kept the Elder wand, he would certainly be powerful. Perhaps powerful enough to prevent anyone else turning out like Voldemort. He knew that with the power of the Elder wand, he could change the world.
As quickly as that thought came, so came another. Dumbledore standing in the Great Hall during the feast of Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts. He remembered those blue eyes looking right at Harry as he said "Dark times lie ahead of us and there will be a time when we must choose between what is easy and what is right." He also remembered the discussion with Dumbledore in the white, clouded King's Cross Station about those who seek power and those who earn it. With a small sigh, Harry knew that he couldn't keep the wand. The temptations died as Harry gently placed the wand into the tomb. He drew his holly wand, and conjured a long white cloth which draped itself over the body.
Harry stepped back, and Ron and Hermione walked forward and joined him. The three of them stood there for a moment, quietly remembering.
Ron broke the silence. "Professor" he began hesitantly. "I... i don't know if you can hear me, but Harry said that you were out there, somewhere. Thanks for the Deluminator, and..." Ron paused, sniffing. Hermione grabbed his arm and pulled herself close to him. He drew himself back up and continued. "And for helping me to come back."
Hermione squeezed Ron's arm, and stepped away slightly, still holding his hand. "Professor, thank you for everything. I... thank you" she finished shyly.
Harry looked at the tomb. He had spent the past year struggling with doubts about Dumbledore until he had finally decided to trust in the man he had known. He had gotten the opportunity to speak with him again in that strange, peaceful place. While there was more he wanted to learn, Harry had said all he needed. "Rest in peace, Professor" he whispered.
With that, Harry used the holly wand to levitate the lid back onto the tomb. It settled down with a soft thud. The White Tomb was whole again.
After one final look, Harry turned and walked back towards the broken castle with his best friends.