Summary: "Think of it this way," said Ron in cheerful tones. "No Malfoy, no Snape, and at the end of the year, no Dark Lord will be trying to do you in."
Voldemort is no more and the trio is going back to Hogwarts after a year of chasing after bits of rotten soul. Harry is finally getting his mind-free year. However, with a certain redhead around and a DADA teacher who seems to be channelling Severus Snape, things might just not go as smoothly as Ron predicted.
A/N: Here it is; first chapter of this great story. Presumptuous? Me? Where did you get that idea? Heh. Anyway, you are going to determine whether it is actually good or not. I'm only here for the pleasure of writing and threatening unsuspecting readers to murder them in their sleep if they don't review. -Grins-
Disclaimer: Okay people. Let's get this straight. Last time I checked I wasn't a married mother of three children and I was most definitely not richer than the queen. So owning Harry Potter would be a no-no for me as well. Just in case you were wondering…
A special Thank you to my beta Black Vengeance without whom this fic wouldn't be nearly as polished. Thank you so much for your comments and hard work! I couldn't have done it without you!
Anyway, here it goes!
Chapter one
The Reunion
It was the first of September. When Ginny arrived at Kings Cross, they had already boarded the train. Ginny had barely hugged Mum, Dad and her herd of brothers before running straight into the invisible barrier and onto the train. Once on board, she stuffed her trunk into a random compartment and began her frantic search.
It had been a year since she'd last seen him. It had been an eventful year too. Ron and Hermione had gone to the Dursleys with him after the end of her fifth year. They stayed only a week, though, and came back to the Burrow for two weeks. It was perhaps one of the most painful weeks Ginny had ever had to go through. She had braced herself and put on a brave face, had stayed her cheerful self, even though she had barely talked to Harry during the whole time he was there. It was easier for both of them that way.
They had shared one moment of intimacy. It had been during Bill and Fleur's wedding, when, the guests nearly gone, he had surprised her by asking her to dance. She remembered how he had buried his face in the crook of her neck during the whole dance, holding her close and swaying to the soft sound of the music. It was with his face still buried in her hair that he had told her he was leaving the next day with Ron and Hermione. It had taken her every ounce of restraint to not attach herself to him and beg him to stay or to glare at him and dare him to ask her to stay behind, but she didn't. She only held onto him tighter and told him to stay safe.
She hadn't seen him or had any form of contact with him since. After two whole months of comforting her mother, who had been utterly distraught at the sudden departure of the trio, she had returned to Hogwarts, which remained open for whoever still wished to complete their studies. The trio occasionally sent notes to Mum, an attempt at reassurance, which usually consisted of the same line: "We're okay" or "We're doing fine, don't worry". Mum had written to her every time one of these notes arrived. All in all, it was a year spent worrying herself sick for her family, her friends and Harry.
Luckily, her other friends came back to Hogwarts with her. Demelza always managed to make her laugh and take her mind off things and together with Colin and his friend and fellow Gryffindor Matthew Foyle; they would always comfort her whenever it became too hard. In return, she'd be there whenever it was hard on them too. Sadly, Luna and Neville didn't come back. Luna had embarked on a quest with her father to find Warkenlofs. According to her, these invisible creatures turned Dementors into an extremely rare specie of fairies whose sole purpose in life was to make people sneeze. Neville, on the other hand, had joined the Order - a move that surprised more than one. However, he didn't back down when the older witches and wizards tried to keep him away from the raging war; he stood his ground until they realised that he wouldn't have it any other way. Like everybody else, Ginny was shocked that Neville of all people would act so stubbornly. However, her shock was quickly overcome by great respect as she watched him face the order with not so much as a hint of nervousness.
Surprisingly enough, Hogwarts didn't get attacked even once. Hogsmeade had been attacked at some point, but since the staff had had the forethought to cancel all Hogsmeade trips, the students were safe. Everyone knew the barriers were weaker now Dumbledore was gone, but Voldemort had not sent his Death Eaters to destroy the school. Therefore, Ginny had been able to complete her sixth year without having to dodge so much as a cat let alone a killing curse. Sadly, there had been no bludgers to avoid either, since quidditch had been cancelled due to a lack of students returning to Hogwarts, but also for safety measures. Somehow, although she had been one of those who had grunted and protested when this had been announced by McGonagall, she found she was quite glad there had been no matches. It would have served only to remind her of a certain raven-haired boy who enjoyed the game more than anyone she knew. Yet he hadn't been around, he had been out there fighting, getting hurt and, sadly, probably witnessing awful situations and deaths.
Having completed her sixth year, she had gone back to her family. However, instead of going to the Burrow, they had gone to Grimmauld Place, spending two lonely weeks there. There, she had fretted along with Mum about the war and those caught in it, and helped her heal the Order members who were wounded in battle.
Thankfully, after two weeks she had been given an excuse to leave, for she had received an owl from Demelza, asking her if she would like to come and stay in the family's summer home in France. Demelza's parents were high-ranking people in the Ministry, and were therefore provided with the best protection the Ministry could offer. It was then, when Ginny received Demelza's letter, that the strangest thing had happened. Molly told her daughter she should go, thinking she would be safe there and hoping that, that way, the war wouldn't affect her baby girl as much as it already did. And then, as if things hadn't been strange enough, hell must have frozen over because Ginny was the one who wanted to stay. However, things had got back to normal soon enough: after a heated argument and a few slammed doors, Ginny had finally been convinced and had left for Demelza's. Happy that her daughter was safe, Molly had flooed her every now and then in order to fill her in about the latest events.
It had been only three weeks when Molly's head had popped into the fireplace with the news Ginny had been waiting for: Harry, Ron and Hermione were back. Voldemort was gone. Harry had defeated him. Ginny had hardly been able to believe it. However, before Ginny's face had broken into the huge grin it had been waiting to form for so long, one look at the sight of her mother's tear-stained face pushed all thoughts of happiness way.
"What's wrong, Mum?" Ginny had asked apprehensively. What could there possibly be to cry about now that Voldemort was gone? "Everyone's all right, isn't it?"
Her mother had started crying at that point.
"R - Ron and Her - mione are fine. They g - got injured b - but they'll be o - okay" she cried, and Ginny's mind had immediately jumped to the worst. It couldn't be – could it? "H - Harry. Oh, Ginny! Harry is in a very bad state. The healers d - don't know if he'll m - make it and -"
She couldn't seem to go on, but Ginny didn't care. Her heart had stopped beating. At that very moment, Ginny was sure her heart had stopped. How could this possibly have happened? There was no way this could be happening. Harry was tough – he would fight it. Whatever state he was in, he would fight it. She opened her mouth, but then shut it again, her eyes leaking with tears. What could she possibly say to convey the aching inside, the pain that had filled her heart in such a way that Ginny was sure it was still there, despite seeming as though it had stopped beating long ago. However, before she could say anything, Molly went on.
"And Hagrid, K - Kingsley, Moody and p - poor Neville are - they're…"
Ginny didn't need Mum to tell her what they were. She had been crying so hard, shaking with pain and sadness. That could only mean one thing. They were dead. But how could that possibly be true? How could it be that she would never go to Hagrid's Hut ever again for a cup of tea and some rock cakes? How could it be that she would never again see Kingsley and Moody talking glumly about the war, about what they'd like to do to Death Eaters if they caught them? And Neville. Poor Neville. He had been so courageous, such a true Gryffindor and his magic had greatly improved over the past few years. How was it that all of that had been for nothing, that it had all ended in death?
After this, the pair had cried together for a long time, neither saying much, merely hoping that company would ease the vast sense of pain. Finally, Ginny had made a decision: she wanted to go to Grimmauld Place. So she had asked Mum to pop out of the fireplace so she could get there, but Molly had refused to move. She was adamant that Ginny stayed where she was.
"There is nothing for you to do here, Ginny," she had said in a firm tone, "The ones who aren't at St. Mungo's are out there fighting the remaining Death Eaters. There's no one here."
Ginny was outraged. "But I want to see them!" she cried. "Ron, Hermione and Harry. I want to see them."
How dare Mum tell her she couldn't go back to see her brother, her ex-boyfriend and her closest friend. She hadn't seen them in so long, had been worrying insanely about them, and now they had finally returned, there was no way in the wizarding world anyone was about to stop her.
"You won't be able to see them anyway, especially not Harry." She sighed and her tone softened. "Ginny, dear. There is nothing you can do to help. I'll floo you every time I can and keep you up to date on what's happening. So please, stay safe where you are."
Her eyes were desperate, pleading, but Ginny was determined.
"Mum! I -" she began.
"No, Ginny, and that's final!"
After glaring at each other for a moment, Molly told her daughter that she loved her before she disappeared, leaving the fireplace empty. Ginny, however, had never been one to obey orders she didn't agree with, and hastily grabbed the Floo powder and tried to follow. However, it seemed Mum knew her well and had put some kind of blocking charm on it, making it impossible for her to floo. Ginny was furious.
"How dare she!" she shouted, outraged, as she paced angrily in front of a confused Demelza, repeating the same words over and over.
However, before Demelza could find out exactly who had dared to do what, for at that moment a barn owl had flown through the window, carrying an express copy of the Daily Prophet. It dropped it on Demelza's lap and flew back out, not asking for payment.
Ginny, however, did not have to look at the paper to know what it would be about. Pushing her frustration to the back of her mind, she hurriedly sat down next to Demelza who was staring at the first page. Her mouth was hanging open and she gasped, her eyes furiously going back and forth across the page as she read and re-read the headline, clearly wondering if she could believe her eyes. Finally, she seemed to accept the news to be truth, for she jumped up and screamed happily. Sure enough, Ginny's suspicions were confirmed, for the front-page title read, in large black letters that filled almost the whole page: You-Know-Who Gone At Last! There was an old picture of Harry back in his fourth year and an accompanying article which described what had happened. Apparently, it had all happened in Hogsmeade. The reporter had even insinuated that the Death Eaters and Voldemort were going to destroy Hogwarts if Harry hadn't shown up and saved the day. Once she finished that particular account of the event (for the paper was clearly filled with details of that one event), Ginny turned the page and almost had a heart attack. There was a picture, much more recent, of Ron, Hermione and Harry. Ron and Hermione both looked extremely tired and were clearly badly injured. They were holding – Ginny's heart stopped again – a lifeless Harry. Ron was yelling something and Hermione was crying while holding onto Ron and Harry.
Harry.
He looked dead. There was no other way to put it. His head was dangling to the side and he was covered with blood. Even on the black and white picture, she could see the deep gash on his left shoulder and just above his left hip. His robes were torn and burned sporadically. Ginny could do nothing but stare at the picture until her vision was blurred with tears.
Demelza, who had understood that there was clearly something wrong, came up behind Ginny and gasped when she saw the picture and the title that read: Will The Boy Who Lived Live Again?
They had stayed up for the whole of the night, Demelza doing her best to comfort Ginny, who couldn't wait for her mother to floo again. She was definitely going back home.
However, before she could find a way of getting back, a new set of bad news changed her mind. It turned out that Demelza's father had been at Hogsmeade that night, the night that would be now known as the Final Battle. Sadly, he had been one of the many innocents who had lost their lives there. Therefore, as much as she wanted to go back to London, Ginny had informed Mum that she would be staying with Demelza for the rest of the summer. She couldn't bare the thought of leaving her alone after all she had done for her. She had, however, made it perfectly clear that she wanted to be informed of every single detail. Mum obliged and flooed at least once a day, telling her about both the little and the bigger happenings.
Twelve days after the Final Battle, she had been flooed by an overly excited Molly Weasley. Harry had regained consciousness at last. It had only been for a few seconds, but it meant he would be all right.
Ginny had been so relieved, she had cried and even Demelza – who was still grieving –was happy enough to order a few butterbeers and some firewhisky to celebrate. Molly, however, who thought highly of her only daughter, would forever think that the reason she looked so tired the next morning was because she couldn't sleep out of joy and excitement. But the best news had arrived ten days later. Not only Harry was well enough to leave St. Mungo's, but he was also going back to Hogwarts along with Ron and Hermione to complete their seventh and final year at Hogwarts.
So that was why, a week later, Ginny Weasley was pushing students out of her way, desperately looking into compartment after compartment for the infamous golden trio. She finally spotted a crowd of students bundled next to a closed compartment and automatically understood that it was the one she was looking for. She pushed through the crowd, menaced an annoying Third Year to hex him into the next century if he didn't get out of her way and finally reached the compartment door. She banged on it loudly for someone to come and let her in. Nothing. They had probably put a silencing charm around them, she realised, and the door was obviously locked. Ginny pondered on what to do for a moment before deciding to summon a piece of parchment and a quill. She cast a quick privacy charm on the paper so nobody could read what she was writing and scribbled:
"Ron, I know you're in there. It's Ginny, so open up. And in case you think it's someone impersonating me, well… how many people would know about that time we were five and you dressed up with my dark pink robes to play Mum and Dad?"
She folded the parchment, undid the privacy charms, slipped it under the compartment door, and waited patiently with a huge grin plastered on her face. She was about to charm another parchment that would read itself, when the door slid open, revealing a scowling, red-eared Ronald Weasley with Hermione holding her hand on her mouth trying her best not to roll around laughing in the background. Ron pulled Ginny into the compartment before closing the door in the face of at least twenty curious people.
"You couldn't have possibly chosen another thing to prove it was you, could you?" Ron asked with a frown.
Ginny smiled teasingly at him. "Ah! Well, you know me. Couldn't have missed an occasion to turn my favourite brother's ears red."
Ron scowled at her for a moment then grinned and pulled her into one of their very rare hugs.
"It's nice to see you, Ginny," he said after finally letting go of her, the little sister he had barely seen in months.
Ginny smiled warmly at him, before looking past him, taking in the rest of their compartment. Hermione was no longer trying to repress her laughter and was beaming at her. Ginny smiled back and the girls exchanged a hug along with some squeals of joy. When she let go of Hermione, Ginny's eyes finally rested on the person she'd been longing to see the most, though she was not entirely sure how she felt about seeing him again. Harry was sitting quietly in the corner, his head lolled against the window, his eyes closed and his breathing even. He was evidently sleeping.
Glad that she didn't have to face him quite yet, she took a moment to take in his appearance. His hair was slightly longer than the last time she had seen him, but just as wild. He was slightly pale and had bags under his eyes. Other than that, however, he looked much the same. Older and tireder but still the same Harry.
"He sleeps a lot lately," Hermione commented from where she was sitting opposite Harry, her own eyes scrutinising him. Ron sat down next to her and looked at Harry too.
"Well, it's to be expected," he said. "It's only a week since he was let out of St. Mungo's."
"He should have listened to McGonagall and took a week or two off before coming to school," Hermione sighed.
Ginny didn't voice it, but she was glad that he didn't listen to McGonagall. She would have gone mad if she had boarded the train with hopes of seeing him at last only to be told that Harry wouldn't be coming to Hogwarts for a week or two. One could only wait for so long.
"Maybe he didn't want to make an entrance," she reasoned as she sat down next to a sleeping Harry.
"Yeah, that's what he said," said Ron.
Ginny watched Harry sleep in silence for a moment, then turned to her brother and Hermione, only to realize they were holding hands. Her eyebrows shot up as a smile played on her lips.
"I see you two finally got your act together," she said, trying her hardest to keep a serious face and failing miserably.
Ron and Hermione turned red and started mumbling incomprehensibly. It was all it took for Ginny to laugh.
"Come on!" said Ron in defence. "It wasn't that obvious"
Ginny stopped laughing to stare at him in disbelief. "You're joking? Not that obvious? I bet even Binns knew about you two!"
When Ron said nothing and only managed to turn a deeper shade of red, Ginny decided to be merciful and to spare her brother some embarrassment by changing the subject. She made a note to herself to corner Hermione later in the evening, though.
"So, how are you all doing?" she asked.
Ron, who seemed relieved his sister had decided to drop the subject of his relationship with Hermione, answered first.
"Fine, a bit tired but fine"
"We're all glad it's finally over and we're going back to Hogwarts!" squealed Hermione excitedly. "Can you believe we're in the same year?"
"Yes! We'll get to be in the same dorm as well!" Ginny said, just as thrilled.
Ron rolled his eyes. "Speak for yourself," he said. "She's the one who made me come back," he added indicating Hermione. "Apparently, chasing off Dark Lords isn't enough to be an accomplished wizard nowadays."
Ginny laughed while Hermione glared at Ron.
"It definitely doesn't give you any kind of diploma," she replied. "How do you plan to find a decent job if you haven't even finished Hogwarts?"
Ginny watched the couple bicker with a smile. Typical Ron and Hermione. She was glad they were still the same people she had always known. She was afraid the war would have changed them and made them strangers to her eyes.
Her gaze traveled once again to the sleeping form next to her. Harry was probably the one she was worried about the most. It wasn't hard to guess that the three of them had gone through tough times during the past year. However, It was harder to know how they'd come out of it, especially in Harry's case.
Ginny looked up when she realized the compartment had gone silent only to find Hermione looking at her with a very knowing look on her face.
"What?" Ginny asked.
"Oh, nothing," the older witch replied.
Ginny cast Hermione a suspicious look, only to have it swiftly ignored by Hermione who let her gaze rest on Harry. Ginny looked at him as well.
"How is he doing?" she asked.
"He's tired of course," Hermione replied. "It's still a bit hard on him, though."
Ginny raised her eyebrows. "Hard? How do you mean?"
"Well, you know Harry," said Ron. "He tends to keep to himself when he goes through nasty stuff. I say just give the bloke some time."
Ginny didn't say anything and only looked at Harry.
"Don't worry yourself too much Ginny," Hermione reassured her. "It's like Ron said, he only needs some time."
"What about you two?" she asked, shifting her gaze onto them. "You were with him all along, weren't you?"
Ginny noticed that they both avoided looking at her before giving her an answer.
"It's a bit different," Hermione finally said carefully, "It's just …," she began, struggling to find the words. "We just wanted it to be over and to survive all this so that we can go on with our lives. I don't think Harry planned on surviving at all. So I suppose it's still hard for him to grasp the fact that it is over."
Ginny only stared at Hermione after that statement. He thought he was going to die? she thought dazedly. Her gaze shifted back onto Harry, her worry obvious on her face. She knew Harry tended to be pessimistic sometimes but she had somehow managed to convince herself that he would do anything to come back alive, to come back to her. She knew it was a silly thought, knew she shouldn't even think about such things when people were dying every day, but she clung to it anyway. The fear that he would move on and forget about her had haunted her and yet the thought that he would embark on his journey thinking it would end with his death had never crossed her mind. Now, with hindsight, she realised it should have. This was Harry after all and he wasn't facing any old wizard but Voldemort. Of course he'd think about death, it was completely natural. She admired his courage, for he had known that he could die yet had still chosen that path all the same. The thought of his death terrified her: losing him was one of her biggest fears after all. Nonetheless, the way Hermione put it, it sounded as though Harry was not just prepared for death, but positive that it would happen. To her, it sounded like self-sacrifice.
Ginny was torn between shock, awe and the urge to smack him on the head. Instead, however, she settled for a "He thought he was going to die?" muttered numbly to Ron and Hermione.
"Yeah," said Ron gravely. "He even told us as much at one point."
"He told you?" Ginny asked in disbelief, wondering how that could fit into a conversation.
"Well, more like shouted it as us, really," said Ron, before shaking his head slightly, as if to clear some unpleasant thought he'd just had. "But he's alive and that's all that matters."
After that, the conversation turned to less heavy things like who they thought would replace McGonagall; why Ron and Hermione weren't doing patrols, especially with Hermione being Head Girl; (Apparently, McGonagall had dispensed them from it for this train-ride.) and they did some guesswork as to who would be back and who wouldn't.
They had a good laugh talking about Luna and her father. She had told Ginny in one of her letters that she wouldn't be returning to Hogwarts this year either. Finding Winged Taflates, Warkenlofs and Gingergnomes was much more important when you were a Lovegood. Hermione's eyes widened in disbelief when Ginny told them about this particular bit of information. She folded her arms, scowling disapprovingly and muttered about how irresponsible Luna and her father were. Ginny only chuckled at the typical Hermione reaction. However, as she watched Hermione's scowl turn into a nostalgic expression, she realised that she wasn't the only one who was going to miss Luna sourly.
Harry had slept through it all, only stirring on some occasions but not opening an eye. Finally, Ginny stood up and told them she'd meet them at the feast. She had left Demelza alone with the boys and she'd better get back to her.
"Say hi to Harry from me," she said sadly, wishing she could have said it herself, before waving walking out of the compartment. Having left the compartment, she found she had to perform three Bat-Bogey hexes to finally be released from the crazed crowd who wanted to know every ruddy detail about what happened in that compartment.
Ginny sighed and walked down the train. If she thought that she would be relieved after finally seeing the trio, she had been proven wrong. Harry's case was an even bigger mystery now.
She shook her head and opened the door to her compartment. It was going to be an interesting year.
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Harry Potter had his forehead pressed against the glass of the carriage that was leading him to Hogwarts. He was staring out of the window, remains of sleep still apparent on his face, his thoughts roaming. He was feeling none of the excitement he used to feel every single time he was about to reach Hogwarts' gates. Instead, he was slightly apprehensive. Unlike Ron, he hadn't put up a fight when Hermione and Mrs Weasley had suggested that the three of them ought to go back to Hogwarts to complete their final year there. In fact, he hadn't given the matter much thought. He hadn't particularly minded nor cared at the time.
However, now that he was so close to the castle, he couldn't help but think about it. It felt like a lifetime had passed since his sixth year. The prospect of ever coming back to Hogwarts had never even crossed his mind. The only thing he had wanted for most of the past year was to get out of that whole mess alive. However, as the months passed by he became more and more convinced that it wouldn't happen. Especially towards the end.
The fact, therefore, that he was there with Ron and Hermione, heading towards the place that felt like home more than any other, as though the past year was nothing more than a nightmare that would soon lay forgotten once homework started to pile up was a bit hard to grasp.
"Harry," called Hermione. "Is everything all right?"
Brought out of his thoughts, Harry blinked several times before sitting straighter and facing Hermione, only to find her looking at him, a worried expression etched on her face. Harry shrugged.
"I'm fine," he said when she continued to look at him worriedly.
Hermione didn't look convinced and shared a sideways look with Ron who attempted a different approach.
"Think of it this way," he said in cheerful tones. "No Malfoy, no Snape, and at the end of the year, no Dark Lord will be trying to do you in."
Harry chuckled while Hermione looked disapprovingly at Ron. However, before she could scold him, Ron let out a gasp and pressed his nose against the window.
"Here it is!" he told them excitedly.
And sure enough, Hogwarts' castle was growing bigger and bigger as they approached it.
Harry fixed his eyes on it. As he watched its turrets and its lights, he momentarily forgot that Dumbledore wouldn't be there to greet them at the opening feast, forgot about the horrible realisation that had hit him like a punch in the gut when, instead of Hagrid, it would be Professor Grubbly-Plank who greeted the First Years. He forgot about the past year and about Voldemort. For that blissful moment, he felt nothing but warmth. One could even go as far as to say that he was at peace. He looked at Ron and Hermione and smiled.
"We're home," he whispered softly.
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A/N: Read it? Enjoyed it? Not? Feel like staying alive? That's right. Review. You know you want to.