10 years had passed since The Final Battle at Hogwarts, you would think 10 years would be long enough to heal the scars of the ones that had fought and lost loved ones… But it wasn't, at least not for some. One Vincent Crabbe in particular.
Vince had once been a boisterous young man, he had been raised to be nothing but a bigot and a bully. He had watched his mother be beaten his whole life, at least until his father had first taken her life and then his own. Something he still blamed himself for, how could he not have stood up for her? Why hadn't he saved her?
He had fought depression and mania all through his Hogwarts experience, lashing out at his fellow classmates and housemates whenever the mania took him. Another thing that filled him with guilt, yes a bully is what he had been raised to be, however it wasn't what he wanted.
Vince was a gentle soul, working at the Magical Menagerie in Diagon Alley. His slender figure sliding in between the animal displays with an acquired grace. He had refused to eat after his mother's death, wanting to follow her into whatever waited for him, but fortunately for him Harry had taken him under his wing after he, Gregory, and Draco had defected to the light at the final battle saving the saviors ass when he had been ambushed.
When he has stopped in to check on Vince, he had found him on the floor in the same spot his mother's life had been stolen in, wasting away. He had immediately flooed him to St. Mungo's and Vince had voluntarily checked into the psychiatric ward there.
It had taken them a year to find the right combination of potions that allowed him to function as a member of society. Afterwards he had stayed with Harry at Grimmauld Place for a few weeks while the Chosen one had helped him find a flat. Nobody had come to see him during his impatient treatment other than Harry. Hermione had been there as well working as a healer. It made him think even less of himself knowing the two men he had thought to be his best friends couldn't even bother to write him a letter.
Both Draco and Gregory had received offers from Puddlemere and the Harpies respectively. Draco hadn't stayed with it long, choosing instead to follow in his father's footsteps and took his seat in the Ministry after Lucius had been sentenced to life in Azkaban. Gregory however still played as a beater for the Harpies His muscle bulked body decorating posters strewn across teenage witches bedrooms all across Britain, his brown eyes sparkled mischeviously and his bronze hair glittering in the sunlight.
Vince knew that Gregory and Pansy had married not even a month after The Final Battle, and they had a child and then divorced. But he only knew this because the reason they had divorced had been because of one of the Golden Trio. Everyone at Hogwarts had known that Pansy was jealous of Hermione Granger, though they could never figure out why. Now they knew. The Daily Prophet had been covered in pictures of the two girls as they strolled hand in hand through Diagon Alley, Marianna Goyle resting on Hermione's hip like she belonged there.
Vince had been shocked when they came out, but only for a moment. He himself was bisexual, as fact he and Harry had discovered one stormy night in Grimmauld Place while he was flat hunting. However the two had decided mutually that they were better as friends and that their dalliance was to only be a one time affair. Vince needed the man to much in his life to let sex get in the way of their friendship, no matter how satisfying the encounter had been.
Now Vince was slowly strolling down towards Hogwarts, filled with nostalgia and pain as memories of destruction and chaos filled him. He had never planned to return to this place if he could help it, but when Harry had contacted him about starting a summer camp for the orphans of war he couldn't refuse.
He felt he owed the Wizarding world that at least for having played a role in the children losing their parents in the first place , even if he had tried to make it right in the end. The children joining them aged anywhere between 10 and 16. The houses would all mingle together. Boys staying in one house dormitory, the girls in another along with two chaperones.
Vince knew several of his classmates would be there to do such, but not who other than Harry, Hermione, Pansy, and himself along with 8 year old Marianna who although not an orphan, would be allowed to attend as well since both of her mother's would be there.
Dread filled him as he stood in front of the doors to the Great Entrance. He took a deep breath before pulling a calming draught from his pocket and knocking it back in one slug.
He signed as it immediately took effect and with trepidation he slowly pushed the door open and slid inside with his trunk bumping behind him. This was going to be a long six weeks.