Chapter 1

Harry turned, slipping the elder wand into his back pocket, but keeping his phoenix one clutched in his hand; it felt good to be reunited with it at last. Ron was staring at the floor, his shoulders slumped forward, but Hermione was fixing Harry with a scrutinising look.

"You should get some sleep," she said. He shook his head.

"I can't, everyone-"

"Is really grateful for what you've done for them." She cut in. "The least they can do in return is let you rest."

Harry thought about this. Since the adrenaline from the fight had worn off, fatigue had begun to spread through his limbs, now reaching a point where keeping his eyes open took a considerable effort, and he could feel the pulsing of blood under forming bruises, aches in places that he couldn't remember ever having hurt before.

"I suppose." He admitted. He glanced at Ron again. His face was still obscured by his hair, arms hanging loosely at his sides.

"Come on, let's go." Harry said to both of them. Hermione turned and headed for the spiral staircase, Harry in tow. Reluctantly, Ron followed suit.

"Here," Harry murmured to him, slowing on the stairs. He passed Ron something made from a silvery fabric from the pocket of his robes. Ron looked at him, but made no sign of gratitude. His expression was blank, hollow.

When they had reached the marble staircase, Hermione turned.

"I think I'm going to go and help Professor McGonagall with restoring the castle. She'll need as much help as she can get, that's for sure." She said, glancing around at the destruction with a small frown on her face.

"Yeah, okay. If I'm needed, I'll be in my dormitory." Harry told them. The words felt strange on his tongue. It hadn't been his dormitory for almost a year.

"Okay, see you later." Harry started climbing the stairs to the seventh floor, glancing back to see Ron disappear under the invisibility cloak. Reaching the portrait of the Fat Lady, he hoped there wouldn't be anyone in the common room.

"Well done, dear boy!" The Fat Lady trilled as he opened his mouth to admit he didn't know the password. He winced slightly at the sudden noise of her voice in the stillness of the building.

"Err, thanks. I'm sorry, I don't know the password."

"Don't worry, just go on through."

"Thanks," He said again, as she swung aside, allowing him into Gryffindor tower.

His heart jumped in his chest as he looked around the circular room. It was just as it had always been. A fire was roaring in the grate, and the large, squashy armchairs looked as welcoming as always. He was home. As he stepped into the room, he caught sight of the notice board, which was usually covered in messages about Quidditch practice, and apparition lessons, now had scraps of paper and what looked like cuttings from the Quibbler pinned to it. Each one had information about the war, and updates on sightings of Harry, Ron and Hermione, as well as copied down quotes from PotterWatch, and the passwords to the next broadcasts.

"No one but people who are true Gryffindors can see what they really say," said a voice behind him. Harry jumped and whirled around; reaching for his wand, before realising that it was Neville who had spoken. "The Carrows used to come and do dormitory and common room inspections, confiscating things they thought might be used against them, and anything that showed any sign of resistance. So I just got Dean and Seamus to perform a charm on this stuff so that to them, it just looks like normal notices. It was complicated magic, I have to say, but it did its job; they never found out what we were doing. Giving people hope." He smiled at Harry. "Anyway, I expect you'll be wanting to sleep. I'll see you later," And he disappeared out of the portrait hole.

Neville had done a good job, Harry thought to himself. He was glad that his grandmother had finally come to her senses and seen that Neville was most definitely worthy of his father's legacy.

Harry crossed the common room to the staircase that led to the dormitories. When he reached the door hung with the sign Seventh Years, he eagerly pushed it open, desperate to set eyes on the room that he had seen so many good times within.

It, like the common room, was almost exactly as he had left it. Harry assumed that the Carrows had taken Seamus and Neville's trunks their own care, once they took refuge in the Room of Requirement. Kicking off his shoes, he pulled back the sheets and climbed between them, only now realising how truly exhausted he was. Less than twenty four hours ago, he, Ron and Hermione had been in Gringotts, breaking into the Lestranges' vault. It seemed like weeks ago. But now all he wanted to do was forget. Forget the pain, the guilt, everything.

Harry slept without dreaming, though he vaguely remembered seeing the dormitory door open, and someone look into the room, before closing the door again with a soft click. He also dreamt of a flash of red, and what felt like someone removing his glasses. When he finally awoke, it was dark outside, and someone was curled up on Ron's bed, though he couldn't tell who; someone had indeed removed his glasses. He fumbled around his bedside table until he found them, and shoved them on.

"Ginny?" He asked in a hoarse whisper. She started.

"Harry?" He reached for his wand, which was still in his robes pocket.

"Lumos. What are you doing here?" Now he could see her, he realised her eyes were red-rimmed. Pushing aside the covers he pulled himself out of bed and rushed to her, scooping her into an embrace. She wrapped her arms around him, holding tightly, and Harry felt her shudder slightly as she burst into tears again. He didn't say anything, he didn't know if he could, there was too much pushing through the temporary barrier he had created in his mind, threatening to break through, break him, so he just buried his face in her hair, smothering all thoughts and feelings with her. They stayed like that for a very long time, until Ginny had stopped shaking, and the hiccoughs that followed had ended. Gently, Harry pulled away, holding her by the shoulders, and looking at her. He had missed her so badly it hurt, and here she was, at last.

"Hey," He said softly.

"Hey," She responded weakly.

"I missed you so much," Ginny wrapped her arms around his neck, and he leaned down to capture her lips, dropping his arms to her waist, pulling her flush against him. After a moment they broke apart again, and hugged, tightly.

"I missed you too," She whispered. He wrapped an arm around her, and they walked towards the door, back to the common room. He pulled her down onto his lap on a sofa by the fire, tucking her head underneath his chin. A few more people were up here now. A rather morose looking Lee was sitting in a corner, staring into a mug of tea, but his glazed expression suggested that he wasn't really seeing it, and Neville and his Grandmother sat in a comfortable silence by the portrait hole. A sudden clattering from it brought everyone out of their reveries with a start, and every head turned to where an extremely flustered looking Hermione had burst into the room.

Her eyes fell on Harry, and she immediately asked, "Have you seen Ron? Mrs Weasley is getting slightly frantic." Harry shook his head.

"I'm, uh, afraid I gave him the invisibility cloak," He told her, feeling guilty, "He just looked like he needed to get out, earlier." Hermione nodded, looking understanding, before she came to her senses with a jolt.

"Harry! If he's wearing the invisibility cloak, it could take us hours to find him!"

"I hadn't thought about that, sorry. Maybe we should go and try to find him. What's the time?"

"Almost nine o'clock."

"Nine? But that means he's been gone almost twelve hours! I thought he'd come back soon." A look of worry came into Hermione's eyes.

"We should go find him."

"I'll come, too." said Ginny, surprising them both.

They passed many people on the way back down to the entrance hall, most calling out to Harry and Hermione as they passed. Harry smiled at them, but otherwise didn't respond. The night outside was cold, but in the hours Harry had been asleep, the majority of the grounds had been cleared, with the occasional chunk of stone littering the lawn. Hermione instantly made a start towards the lake, and it took a moment for Harry to realise why. As he approached, a stone appeared out of nowhere, bouncing a few times over the inky black water, spreading circles of ripples, before there was a plop, and the stone disappeared beneath the surface of the water. Ginny, who had been clutching Harry's hand, ran forwards and grabbed for the invisibility cloak in the place the stone had appeared from. It fell away, and Ron spun around. Ginny threw her arms around him, and after a moment, he hugged her back, shaking as they were both wracked by sobs for their lost brother. Harry didn't know what to do. It seemed such a private moment, something he wasn't meant to see, but at the same time he wanted to be part of it. He wanted to be comforted, held, and allowed to collapse from the weight in his chest. His heart ached at their loss, his own loss. The Weasleys were the closest thing he had to a family; losing Fred was like losing his own brother. He thought of George. He had very rarely seen them apart, and now they would never be together again. A lump rose in his throat, as the backs of his eyes burned. Soon, the sobs quietened, and Ron and Ginny broke apart. Ron looked over at Harry, and smiled weakly, before striding over and embracing Hermione.

"Sorry, I think I'm okay now. I just needed some time." Harry knew that twelve hours wasn't enough time, and the look on Ron's face seemed to agree with his thoughts. At the moment it felt like no amount of time would heal them.

"We understand," She told him, her eyes sparkling. "Everyone grieves differently; I guess suffering on your own is just your own way of coping." His lips twitched, and Harry knew what he was thinking. Trust Hermione to have an explanation for everything. Ron put an arm over Ginny's shoulders, and around Hermione's waist, as Harry put an arm over Ginny's. Together they walked back to the school, in silence.