Disclaimer: Anything you may have read somewhere else belongs to someone else.

Summary: Harry and his friends go back to their 8th year in Hogwarts. Harry just wants to have a normal and peaceful year, but apparently nothing ever is where he's concerned.

Author's note: Two very important things:

Remus, Severus, Tonks, Fred and Dobby are alive and kicking.

I know technically the story is supposed to be set in 1998, the thing is- that was so long ago! I can't even remember what I was doing at the time! And I definitely don't remember what songs, movies and TV shows were popular back then. Therefore, I've moved the whole story to current time, mainly for the cultural references.

This story is un-beta'd. All grammar and vocabulary mistakes are mine alone.

MAKE UP YOUR MIND

Chapter One

Harry looked at the ruined castle looming above him. The wreckage was pretty bad, entire walls were torn down in the epic battle that took place here not even hours ago. His school, his sanctuary, the only place that ever felt like a home to him was smoldering and crumbling, but he couldn't even summon the strength to cry. His whole body ached, his face and clothes were caked with dried blood and mud and the fingers of his right hand were holding his wand so tightly he wasn't sure he'd be able to pry them open. But none of it mattered anymore- he won! He finally did what he was meant to do, what the prophecy predicted, what Dumbledore had been grooming him for all these years. He had faced Lord Voldemort and had come out victorious! Finally, the threat had been vanquished and now everyone could finally start to heal.

"Harry!" Harry lifted his head slowly; every movement was sending shock waves through his entire system, to see Hermione running towards him, alongside Seamus and Neville. Harry blinked at them, an overwhelming wave of relief washing over him seeing them alive and sporting all four limbs that his body finally gave up the struggle to stay upright and he collapsed slowly to the ground. For the first time in his life Harry welcomed the blackness, the silence.

When he opened his eyes again Harry found himself lying in a bed, he was warm and comfortable and his body didn't ache as much as it did before. Putting his glasses on he took stock of his whereabouts and realized he wasn't in his four poster bed in the Gryffindor tower, nor the crisp white sheets of the Hospital wing. The sheets were white and crisp but the room was small and private. Slowly piecing things together Harry decided that the Hospital Wing of Hogwarts must have been destroyed during the battle and he was laying in St. Mungo's Hospital. He couldn't even tell how long he's been sleeping or what day it was but it didn't matter, because the war ended and hopefully everyone survived. Harry felt a soft smile tugging at his lips, it was really over.

The door to his room opened and in stepped a smiling healer, her green robes swishing softly around her as she moved. She reached Harry's bed and pulled out her wand, running it over Harry's prone body, casting one diagnostic spell after another in quick succession,

"Well, Mr. Potter," She said brightly, once she had a look at the results, "It's good to see you up and about. My name is Healer Matthews and I'm here to answer any questions you may have." Harry looked at her and opened his mouth a couple of times- he was still rather confused and disoriented and his mind had gone completely blank at the healer's briskness,

"W-What happened?" He finally managed to croak, feeling for the first time how dry his throat was. The healer walked to the bedside table and poured him a glass of water before she pulled a chair and sat down by his side,

"Do you remember the battle?" She asked gently and Harry nodded slowly sipping his water, Healer Matthews smiled wide, "Well, after the battle you collapsed and was brought here, to St. Mungo's. You were covered with bruises and minor injuries, but mostly suffering from stress induced exhaustion so we sedated you for 48 hours to allow your body and your magic to recuperate." Harry nodded again, feeling the relief washing over him- at least he didn't suffer a coma for Merlin knows how long and missed everything that's been going on.

"When can I leave?" He asked, not that he minded staying here so much, the bed was comfortable and the place was quiet but he did miss his friends and the sooner he got out of here the sooner he could find out what happened to them. Healer Matthews placed her hand softly on Harry's,

"We would like to keep you here for a few more days, Harry. You've been through quite a lot and we don't want you to rush back out before we can fully assess your condition." Harry deflated a little at hearing that, great; this was Madame Pomfrey all over again- keeping him in the Hospital Wing way too long 'for his own safety'… "Plus, there is the whole issue of the press," The Healer continued and Harry looked up sharply,

"What sort of issue with the press?" He asked, dread forming in the pit of his stomach, he hated the press! What could they possibly want from him now?

"They all want your picture, and interviews," Healer Matthews shrugged, she'd been talking to Mrs. and Mr. Weasley and they specifically asked that Harry be kept away from the press until he decided he was ready to face them, stressing how much Harry loathed them, so she wasn't about to throw her charge in the line of fire before he was completely ready, "They've been camping outside the hospital for the last couple of days trying to get information about you." Harry gulped at that, damn it, that was the one thing he absolutely didn't need right now!

"I-I can't face them…" He cried, feeling the panic rising inside. Healer Matthews squeezed his hand reassuringly,

"Of course not! You don't have to do anything you're not feeling comfortable with, which is why it is best you stay here and recuperate in your own pace." Harry relaxed, smiling feebly, "Now, I suggest you give me a list of people you do want to see, because there are a lot of fans out there and we'd rather you don't get bombarded by them." Harry nodded, relieved. Healer Matthews patted his hand once more and rose to her feet. "Well, I'll leave you for now, are you feeling up to seeing anyone? I have Ms. Granger and Mrs. and Mr. Weasley who wants to see you."

"Yes, of course, thank you." Harry smiled earnestly. He liked the list idea a lot. He can chose who he wanted to see and not have to deal with the actual outside world for a while. The thought of going out there and having all those people he didn't know fawn over him was making him feel nauseated. It was like back when he first learned he was a wizard- when Hagrid had first taken him to Diagon Alley and everyone wanted to shake his hand. Even seven years living in the magical world hadn't managed to cure his aversion to strangers taking liberties with his hero status, and now that he's actually killed Lord Voldemort and won the war he had a very bad feeling things will only get worse.

"Harry!" Harry was pulled from his slow-building panic attack just in time to see Molly Weasley flinging herself at him. He returned her hug enthusiastically, feeling a whole lot better at once; Molly Weasley gave the best hugs. Molly pulled back and grabbed his face to take a good look at him, and Harry smiled at her, so glad to see she was alright. "You're looking well."

"I'm getting there. How are you?" Molly beamed at him, causing warmth to spread through Harry's entire body- he was so glad to see her smiling and well, and so happy that she still cared about him.

"We're all doing fine. Bill and George are in here too, recuperating, but nothing life threatening." Arthur piped from behind his wife's back, patting Harry's shoulder with fatherly love, as Molly was still busy looking at Harry and beaming, which frankly was starting to make him feel a little uncomfortable. Luckily Hermione chose that moment to lean over and steal a hug from him, forcing Molly to move further down the bed.

"I was so worried after you collapsed," She confessed breathlessly, looking like she was about to cry, "It's so good to see you." Harry pulled her back into a bone crushing hug,

"You too! I'm so glad you're OK." He murmured into her bushy hair. After everything they've been through in the last year, their friendship only became stronger and Harry knew that if something had happened to Hermione he'd be completely broken.

"I've brought you books!" Hermione chirped happily once Harry finally released her, "Don't worry, it's not text books," She assured Harry when he opened his mouth to protest, "It's mostly muggle fiction to help you overcome the inevitable boredom of staying in the hospital." She said as she pulled a small package from her pocket and enlarged it to reveal a stack of at least a dozen books of various sizes. She placed them all on Harry's bedside table neatly before turning to her best friend again, "Listen, I really had to see you before I go, I had to make sure you were alright."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to Australia to bring my parents back," Hermione said with a happy smile, "I'll probably be gone most of the summer but I promise we'll meet on the train back to school, OK?" Harry tried to smile bravely, and nodded. He was happy that Hermione was getting her parents back, but a little selfish part of him was disappointed that she wasn't going to be around to talk to for the rest of the summer.

"As a matter of fact, we better get moving, your portkey leaves in about 40 minutes." Arthur said apologetically. He'd much rather let the two have all the time they wanted but the healers refused to wake Harry or let them in before they did, so that left precious little time and there was no way he was going to let one of his adoptive children go to the International Portkey Station by themselves.

"Harry dear, we'll see you tomorrow." Molly said as Harry hugged Hermione goodbye. She patted his leg reassuringly and Harry nodded. Molly managed to sneak in a small forehead kiss before Arthur ushered the two women out of the room. Harry leaned back as the door closed with a soft smile on his face. After a little while he looked to his bedside table and pulled a random book from the pile.

The next couple of days were rather uneventful for Harry. He mostly slept, his body still recovering from the effects of the war, but he did manage to get out of his bed, aided by a medi-witch to go to the toilet and have a long hot shower. He was still apprehensive about leaving the sanctuary of his room, but Healer Matthews assured him it was all natural and asked him not to force it. He did brave a small tour in the hall the next morning, appreciating very much the fact that most of the hospital staff was far too busy running around to stand and stare at him. Molly and Arthur returned the next day, and the day after, joking about making rounds in the hospital for all their sick children, and how they should ask the healers to put them all in the same room to save them running around. Harry was so happy to be included in the family ordeal he was almost in tears by the time the Weasleys left.

By the third day Harry was beginning to feel uneasy- he gave his healer the list of people who could visit him, but so far aside from Hermione saying goodbye he only saw Molly and Arthur. He wondered what Ron was doing and why he wasn't here to see him. Sure, their relationship had suffered some hard blows during the war but Harry was starting to feel quite disappointed that Ron didn't show up even once. Ginny too, she was his girlfriend, damn it, if anything, she should have been camping by his bedside! He tried to ask Molly and Arthur if everything was OK but they got such guilty looks on their faces anytime he mentioned Ron or Ginny's names that Harry eventually stopped asking. Maybe they just didn't like the hospital, some people were like that and anyway, he was bound to see them once he was out of here since Molly made it very clear he was coming home with them. They were probably doing their own version of recuperating from the war and Harry was certainly in no position to deny them that.

"So that's where they're hiding you!" Harry looked up from the book he was trying to read and a wide smile bloomed on his face, as he watched Seamus, Neville and Dean piling into his room. Seamus was the first to reach him and he grabbed Harry in a big hug, Harry returned the hug happily, "Is this one of those backless gowns?" Seamus asked as he tried to look over Harry's shoulder down his back. Harry rolled his eyes as he pushed the laughing Irishman away from him, punching his arm playfully. Seamus gave him a cheeky grin in return.

"Can you get out of here?" Dean asked after the round of hugs was complete. Harry's eyes widened, he wasn't ready to go anywhere yet! His face was losing color fast, and his breathing became labored, causing his three friends to exchange alarmed looks, "Oh, no no no no, not outside, just like, the roof or something." Dean said quickly and Harry relaxed a little, a trip to the roof might be nice actually, the four walls of his room were starting to get depressing to be honest. The four left the room and started their search for the way to the roof. It took some time and quite a few wrong turns but eventually they managed to get there. The roof of the hospital was huge, and completely empty- magical folk didn't need a helicopter pad or any other muggle inventions so the boys had plenty of room to choose for their sitting. They conjured up some comfortable chairs and sat around, enjoying the afternoon summer sun. Harry leaned back, turning his face up to feel the sun and soft wind on his face for the first time since the battle. He could hear the traffic in the street below, and the soft voices of his friends and just marveled on how everything was so… normal. Smiling softly he opened his eyes to see Dean lighting a thin, hand rolled cigarette and frowned,

"Since when do you smoke?" He asked the dark skinned young man whose eyes were closed in bliss as he exhaled the smoke from his lungs, filling the air around them with a very distinctive smell, "Is that marijuana?" Harry asked aghast, looking around him frantically, as if expecting the entire staff of the hospital to come rushing through the door accompanied by Aurors to take them all to Azkaban.

"Harry, relax, it's OK." Neville said as he took the joint from Dean and took a hearty drag from it, before passing it to Seamus.

"Since when do you guys smoke pot? You know it's illegal!" The three Gryffindors exchanged a look, they've already been through this with Hermione, and they really didn't need Harry to kill their buzz as well.

"Here, just try it; it'll make you make feel good, I promise." Seamus said with a soft smile as he offered Harry the joint. Harry looked from one earnest face to the other and bit his lip. It was just weed, right? And everyone knew you couldn't get high from one hit, right? "Think of it that way, it's much healthier than all the crap they pump you with at the hospital," Seamus said as he took another drag from the joint before passing it back to Dean- there was no point in wasting a perfectly good smoke while they waited for Harry's moral stands to erode.

"Yeah, it's all herbal and natural," Said Neville happily, "And so good!" Harry looked at his friend in complete shock. He might expect something like that from Seamus and Dean but Neville? Neville was just too… wholesome for this kind of thing!

"Fine!" He grumbled, because it wasn't fair that he'll be the only one not having fun, plus, if Neville could smoke marijuana so could he! "Give it over!" Neville handed Harry the joint with a wide smile and Harry wanted to roll his eyes, talk about caving into peer pressure. He took a deep drag from the joint and started coughing almost immediately, he could feel his lungs burning and his eyes were starting to water- this was not fun!

"Easy there." Seamus said as he moved to take the joint from Harry's hand and started rubbing soothing circles on his back with his other hand. Slowly Harry managed to control his coughing fit and breathe normally again. He could still feel Seamus' hand on his back, now resting warmly in the center of his back. It felt good. He was never big on casual touches, he never really knew how to do it without looking like he tried too hard but he liked being touched, he knew it stemmed from his unloved and untouched childhood but right now it didn't matter, he was just enjoying the warmth and comfortable pressure on his back. Plus the air around him was now thick with the weed smoke and combined with what he did manage to inhale his head was starting to feel light and his limbs comfortably heavy.

"Hey guys, guess what!" Neville suddenly piped up, "I spoke to Professor Sprout and she said I could bring some marijuana samples to grow in Hogwarts as my final project!" Dean, who was just taking the last drag of the joint and nearly burning his fingers at the process, started spluttering with laughter,

"Fuck, Nev, I can't believe you actually asked her!" Neville nodded happily, looking very pleased with himself while Dean and Seamus were high five-ing each other and grinning like mad. Harry looked from one friend to another scandalized,

"How the hell did you manage to convince her to let you grow weed in school?" Neville waved his hand in dismissal,

"Magical folk don't know what the hell weed is or what wonderful things it does!" He explained happily, "I didn't know it existed until those two pot-heads showed me."

"And you are ever so welcome." Seamus said generously, bowing his head at Neville,

"Witches and wizards think everything can be solved with potions," Dean said, his tone clearly suggesting he thought it was a daft idea, "But now that the war is over people actually start to listen to what muggle-born and half-bloods have to say. If we're lucky we might manage at least one crop before the school catches on." Harry looked from one smiling face to another before he burst out laughing. Things are sure going to be interesting come September.

The four sat on for a while longer, filling Harry in on all the latest gossip. It felt good to be out in the open air, feeling normal again. He couldn't remember the last time he just sat and laughed without worrying about what might come and what diabolical plan the Dark Lord will come up with next. They stayed up on the roof of the hospital for nearly two hours until a dark cloud settled right above them and a sudden summer shower chased them inside. Harry was still feeling light headed when he got back to his room but he couldn't really tell if it was from the marijuana or being in the sun too long, either way it was not something he wanted his healer to find out so he drank three glasses of water before he went to sleep.

The next day he got quite a surprise in the shape of Ginny Weasley, waltzing into his room looking like she was headed to a fancy party rather than visiting her boyfriend. She fawned over Harry a little, which was nice, but kept looking at her watch the entire time, which wasn't so nice, until she got up from his bed about five minutes after arriving and announced she had an interview at the WWN to get to. She gave Harry a kiss and left before he even had a chance to protest.

Later that afternoon George and Bill came to say goodbye after they received their release papers from the hospital accompanied by Fred. Harry was truly happy to see them; the twins were always a welcome breath of fresh air. He looked critically at Bill, whose face was still scared from his encounter with Fenrir Greyback- the scars did nothing to diminish Bill's looks in Harry's eyes, in fact, they were quite sexy. With a slight blush he averted his eyes and forced himself to stop thinking of his girlfriend's brother as hot. George was growing his hair long to hide the absence of his right ear but he promised Harry that he and Fred were working to replace the missing ear with something "way cool". Harry smiled wide at the twins, but behind their backs he caught Bill's eye roll and had to bite his lip to stop from laughing.

Tuesday found Harry on the roof again, this time sitting comfortably on a deck chair under a big parasol and reading a book. Now that the entire Weasley clan was at home Molly and Arthur had less time to come and see him, so their visit this morning was rather brief, but Harry still deeply appreciated them coming over. He was also very grateful to the hospital staff for not kicking him out already. Physically he was completely healed and Harry Potter or not, he was still taking up a bed. Healer Matthews came to see him nearly every day and talk to him about what he might expect outside the hospital protective walls. Harry appreciated she took the time to coach him but every time they talked about the outside world it made him feel on the brink of a panic attack. Even the thought of going to stay with the Weasleys at the Burrow was making him nauseated- too many people, not enough space. He confessed to his healer he thought he was developing both Agoraphobia and Claustrophobia but she only laughed and assured him he was going to be alright, he just needed time to adjust.

"I knew I'd find you here!" Harry looked up sharply to see Seamus making his way from the roof door towards him. Smiling broadly Harry folded his legs so that Seamus could sit on the end of his deck chair.

"Did you bring anymore of the devil's herb?" Harry asked in a playful tone. Seamus rolled his eyes, those couple of months Harry and Hermione spent alone were rubbing off on his friend a lot more than Harry will ever admit to himself. Seamus sure had his work cut out for him to bring Harry back from Hermione's evil, pedagogic, un-fun… claws!

"Nope, I brought something better- the devil himself!" He announced happily and looked at the door as if he staged a grand entrance for his mystery guest. It took Harry a couple of seconds to realize who Seamus was talking about,

"Malfoy?" Harry asked suspiciously and Seamus nodded. Harry looked around them, as if expecting Draco Malfoy to pop out of thin air, "Where is he?"

"He's downstairs, trying to pull a cute medi-wizard." Seamus shrugged and tried to look scandalized while Harry was hollering with laughter. From what Seamus has been telling him, Draco had decided to embrace his sexual orientation to the full and probably give his father a heart attack in the process, and embarked on a none-stop hooking party for the summer. A small part of Harry was hurt that Draco didn't stop for his sake, but most of him was far more curious to know why Draco bloody Malfoy came to see him in the first place. Sure they saved each other's lives during the war, and technically they buried the hatchet but their relationship, which was always based on mutual loathing and disrespect couldn't have changed so drastically so fast. "He said he had something to tell you, if he ever bothers to show his face, the ungrateful whore." Seamus shrugged; nobody ever promised him that being Draco Malfoy's friend was going to be easy. "So… When are they finally letting you out of here?"

"I don't know…" Harry answered, suddenly feeling uneasy. It wasn't that the healers were keeping him here because he was unfit; it was because he was scared of getting out. "I guess in a day or two…" Bloody hell, even saying that was making him feel lightheaded with fear! "What about you? Have you been here the whole time?" He asked in a rather desperate attempt to change the subject. Seamus rolled his eyes and let out a dismissive snort,

"I wish! My parents hardly let me out of their sight!" He complained loudly, but the soft smile on his face told Harry he wasn't as upset about the whole thing as he wanted people to think. "I finally managed to convince them that nothing bad will happen if I spent one night at Draco's place. At first they wanted to come with me! Can you believe that? But thankfully I talked them out of that one… so now I 'only' have to text them every two hours to let them know I'm OK."

"That's tragic…" Harry intoned flatly, damn that was so unfair! He'd give anything to have overbearing parents!

"I know!" Seamus cried happily. Truth was, he loved being home for the summer, and really, his parents weren't so bad after all, they did let him come over once or twice for a day trip, which they were paying for so it wasn't like he had much right to complain. He cast a sidelong look at Harry, seeing his expression turning a little sour and bit his lip, damn it! He shouldn't have mentioned parents! Poor Harry, the end of the war must have opened quite a lot of old wounds for him, now that everyone was home safe and he was stuck here in the hospital. Sure, the Weasleys already claimed him but it wasn't the same. Before Seamus could come up with a quick subject change into something less painful the door to the roof banged open and out strutted Draco Malfoy, looking impeccably neat and suave.

"Hello boys." He called out, flashing a million galleons smile at Harry, who looked rather suspicious at Draco's behavior,

"Oh, the slag is finally here." Seamus said, his tone clearly indicating he wasn't impressed, "Got a hot date for tonight?"

"Why would I want that?" Draco asked, looking truly puzzled, "We just hooked in the linen closet. Besides, he's not that cute." Seamus brought his fist to his mouth and coughed what sounded a lot like 'slag!'. Draco gave him the two fingers salute. "So… Potter." He said, and Harry flashed him a tight smile, he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to hear what Draco had to tell him, but none the less he was glad Seamus was there if things went south, which- given their track record was actually quite probable. Draco gave the hero a long look, "You look… alive."

"Thank you, you too." From the corner of his eye Harry could see Seamus rolling his eyes; he was clearly not impressed with any of this.

"Come on Drake, tell him, we haven't got all day!"

"Don't push me!" Draco snapped at his friend and got another eye roll. Taking a deep breath he turned to Harry again, "OK, here goes. Potter, I'm sorry and thank you." For a long moment Harry was too shocked to react- did he hear correctly? Did Draco 'I hate you so much I'm going to invent a whole new word to describe just how much' Malfoy just said sorry to him? And thank you?

"W-what for?" This was so surreal his mind went completely blank and he couldn't even think of a reason for Draco to apologize, which was saying a lot…

"I'm sorry for my father and thank you for saving my life." Draco said primly. To be honest he was quite enjoying Harry's discomfort. It was the first time in his life that he actually decided to be the bigger man and it felt good, but not as good as seeing Potter squirming like a fish out of the water trying to find words.

"Um, yeah, sure…" Harry stammered, trying to get his bearings, "And same back at you. I mean, I am sorry for your father, he's a really shitty person, and thank you for saving my life." The two ex-nemeses watched each other for a long moment, both at lost as to what to say next. Draco pulled himself together first and rubbed his hands briskly,

"Well, that was fun, come on Shey, we better get a move on, we've got loads to do today." Seamus rose from his seat and hugged Harry goodbye, whispering an apology for the abrupt departure and the two left the roof. Harry leaned back in his chair, still trying to make sense of what just happened.

Wednesday morning marked the end of the first week of Harry's stay in the hospital. He knew full well that his time here was coming to an end and that his healer was bound to come along at any moment to tell him he would be discharged soon. A part of him wanted to get out of the hospital, go and explore his new freedom before the beginning of the school year, but a bigger part of him was still petrified at the idea of going out there and facing the world on his own. In a way, going to the Weasleys was a blessing, it'll give him time to get accustomed to people again- because so far, he's been getting his visitors in small, manageable portions, but that couldn't last forever, not if he intended to rejoin the world of the living and finish his schooling at Hogwarts. And Harry had absolutely no intention on passing over the opportunity to actually enjoy his last school year.

And so, when Healer Matthews finally showed up and uttered the words "We'll be releasing you later today." Harry could actually manage a cordial nod and thanked her for her care. He spent his last day in the hospital pretty much as he had those before, reading on the roof, or at least attempting to. After lunch he went to his room to wait for Molly and Arthur to come and pick him up. Sitting alone in his room Harry tried his best not to succumb to the panic that was clawing at his gut- getting out of the hospital didn't only mean having to face the Weasleys, the Weasleys were easy, they actually cared about him, the problem was facing everyone else. Though he didn't get any papers while in St. Mungo's his Healer did her best to ease him into the knowledge of what was happening out there.

Apparently the hero worship was now completely out of control, everyone wanted a piece of the Golden Boy who won the war. Reporters were camping by the hospital doors from the second Harry was brought there. The hospital management even had to bring in extra security in the form of Aurors after two reporters tried to sneak in dressed as medi-staff. Since Harry flat out refused to have anything to do with the press, the papers started hunting the other war heroes. While Ginny couldn't get enough of the attention and pretty much accepted any and all interviews she was offered others were less thrilled. Seamus and Hermione were of course exempt from this new brand of torture simply by being out of the county but Neville, Dean and even Draco had a much harder time avoiding the press. Fred and George Weasley, for example, dealt with the annoying pests in their own original way and put a series of jinxes and booby traps all around their shop in case reporters tried to sneak in. So far they got one reporter who ended up covered from head to toe in orange and green rash and another with shocking pink hair and a pair of house-elf ears. Even Molly and Arthur were forced to increase the strength of the wards around their home.

A soft knock on the door pulled Harry from his miserable thoughts. After taking a deep cleansing breath he called out for the visitors to come in. Instead of Molly and Arthur, which he expected to come and collect him, Remus' smiling face appeared around the door. The werewolf walked into the room, looking pretty worn out but happy nonetheless and immediately wrapped Harry in a bear hug. Harry melted into the hug, there were so few people who truly gave good hugs and he was so glad Remus was one of them, it was like a little safe haven of warmth. He was still absorbing all the goodness of the hug when he heard Tonks' cheery voice,

"Wocher Harry!" Harry lifted his head and let out a small yelp of fright at seeing Tonks' choice of hair for the day- it was green, but not just any green, it was killing curse green and it stood out in a spiky halo around her head making it look like her head was exploding.

"Your hair is very… interesting…" He commented feebly. Next to him Remus, who still had an arm around Harry's shoulders sighed deeply and shook his head sadly,

"I told her it was too much…" Tonks pulled a face at the two men standing before her,

"It's to commemorate Harry's victory!" She intoned loudly, and rolled her eyes- she really didn't need to defend her hair choices to a couple of… hair… idiots!

"It clashes with your complexion!" Remus retorted with a smirk. Harry tried to hide his smile; those two were just too much.

"Oh, would you rather I have it like this?" Tonks asked triumphantly before she closed her eyes, concentrating and turned her hair to look exactly like Remus'- color and style. By now Harry had lost the fight with his laughter and was giggling like mad. Remus narrowed his eyes at the sassy Auror and crossed his arms over his chest,

"You know, you're so not as funny as you think you are!" Tonks beamed at him while Harry was practically howling with laughter. It felt so good to know that things were returning to normal and that Remus and Tonks hadn't lost their sense of humor.

"Guys, stop it, you're going to make me pull something." He complained loudly once he managed to get his laughter under control. Remus and Tonks exchanged a winning smile between them- it was good to see Harry laughing. It took hardly any time to collect Harry's stuff as he was brought to the hospital with nothing but the clothes on his back- his trunk and most of his clothes were already taken to the Burrow.

"Are you ready Harry?" Tonks asked with a cheerful smile and Harry swallowed hard, a determined expression on his face. He nodded once, his jaw tight. Remus and Tonks exchanged a look and Remus walked over and wrapped his arm around Harry's shoulder,

"Harry, it'll be alright, I promise." He said quietly, "And you just remember, if things get bad you can always come and stay with us." Harry's healer had pulled them aside before they got into Harry's room to explain his condition and asked them to monitor the boy in case of trouble. The three of them went down to the main lobby to use the fireplace and floo to the Weasley home. Luckily there weren't many people present at the time and most of them were staff that smiled and wished Harry good luck. Upon landing in the 'Burrow's kitchen Harry was immediately wrapped in one of Molly's bear hugs. She was chatting a mile a minute trying to explain to Harry where all her children had gone to. As it turned out the only ones coming to dinner were Percy, Remus and Tonks, which suited Harry just fine. Ron was staying over at his girlfriend's, Lavender, while Bill had gone to the International Portkey Station to pick up his wife, Fleur. The twins decided to take Charlie for a fun night in town before he left to go back to Romania the following afternoon and Ginny had a girls' night out in London. Harry was pretty bummed about that- after all the least Ginny could do, after visiting him one measly time in the hospital was to show up when he was released.

After dinner everyone seemed to disperse so Harry went up to his assigned room, which used to be Charlie's and closed the door. So far things were going rather well, he thought. No anxiety or stress at all. Quickly changing into his pajamas he crawled into bed with his book. He managed about two pages before his eyelids started drooping and he slowly succumbed to sleep.

~~o0o o0o o0o~~

A/N:

I think I mentioned it, once or twice, that I didn't read "Deathly hallows", I did see the films but I really can't remember anything from them... therefore most of the references to what happened in Harry's seventh year/Final battle are snippets that I do remember and stuff that suited my story. Please don't try and catch me with inaccuracies, it'll be too easy.

It's been quite a while since I've written anything and I know I'm a little rusty, so please bear with me. For the first time ever I actually have most of the story down! Which means I can do regular updates! Hooray!

Please let me know what you think.

Love, Lils'.