Disclaimer: I own nothing which JK has mentioned in any of her books. That includes names, locations, and other random stuff.
Things to be noted: This will eventually be slash. Anything I deem too frisky for with not be here. It will be somewhere else. Not sure where yet though. I like reviews. I used to write under the name parseltonguediarist. Please review.
Summary: Harry vanquishes the Dark Lord and realises he can finally get on with living life and enjoying himself.
Harry walked towards the entrance to The Leaky Cauldron with a lump of trepidation rising in his chest. After the events of the previous June, he was nervous about returning to the Wizarding world. However, this summer had been a million times easier than those which had preceded it. This year he had been allowed to spend the entire eight weeks with Ron and Hermione at The Burrow. For once in his life he was not returning to school ignorant of what had occurred in the two months of July and August. He knew full well what had happened.
In June, Harry had defeated Tom Marvolo Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort, in an epic battle on the nineteenth of June. It seemed that Riddle's return to a human form had been the first step towards his downfall. Harry's adjustment of a well-known killing spell, Avada Kedavra, to make it something which could affect more than simply the human form, had sent a jet of black light at the Dark Lord, and ended his rule of terror.
The Wizarding world no longer feared a great and powerful terror which could take over at any time. The Ministry had finally accepted what Harry had been saying for the past two years, that the Dark Lord had returned to a human form. They had also accepted, when Fudge had been brutally murdered by Lucius Malfoy, that The Death Eaters really had returned to their master.
The final battle had occurred outside the wreck of a house in Godrics Hollow. Harry had stood where he had been as a baby and fought the greatest and most evil wizard ever known, and replaced a part of himself with a part of the other man. In a way, he had become a certain part of Voldemort. In a way, he had become the most powerful wizard of their time. Voldemort had fallen where Harry's parents had doen the same all those years ago, and Harry had stood over his body and cried for what he had lost for this man. Harry cried for what he had been through and suffered at the hands of Voldemorts evil. Harry cried for the love he had lost, his parents and Sirius, the three people who could have cared for him through his childhood and given him hat he deserved.
Voldemort's was the only life Harry took through the course of the war. His friends, teachers and even enemies, took hundreds more. In a subtle twist of fate and revenge, Remus Lupin had been the one to finally put both Peter Pettigrew and Bellatrix Lestrange to rest. He exacted judgement on those who ruined the life of, and eventually killed his beloved Padfoot.
There had been hundreds of defections from both the light and the dark in the last few weeks of the war. Almost all the Slytherins had converted to the dark with their parents, and some had defected to the light to aid Harry, but there was one who had never joined the Death Eaters.
Draco Malfoy. It was Draco Malfoy who had ignored Harry in every Order meeting throughout the war. It was Draco Malfoy who had spoken barely a few words to Harry after the battle. It was Draco Malfoy who had killed both his parents when they raised their wands against Harry in the final few moments of Voldemort's life. It was Draco Malfoy who had inspired this fear which was beginning to possess Harry as he prepared to return to school this year, his final year at the place which had been his home for so long.
Harry was scared that the almost companionable silence which had come to be the norm between himself and Malfoy at the end of the war would be gone, and he Malfoy he had always known would be back. Spiteful, teasing, cruel Malfoy was not a companion of Harry's, and he had no desire to be associated with him. Harry would rather throw himself from the Astronomy Tower than have to see Malfoy sneer at him when they saw each other on the train the following morning.
Gryffindor's Golden Trio walked arm in arm into the Leaky Cauldron. At first, there were simply murmurs, but suddenly an ageing witch stood up and cried "By Gods, it's Harry Potter!" The room went insane. Harry, Hermione and Ron simply stood there, a united front, letting the craziness wash over them. After about half an hour of receiving little response, people began top return to their previous activities. The Trio walked up to Tom, the Innkeeper and requested the keys for their two rooms. As previously planned, Harry would have a room to himself, and Ron and Hermione would be sharing so that they could have a final night together before being returned to dormitory life.
The two followed Harry upstairs at a distance, wanting to give him some time to return to the state of mind that he really was the saviour of the wizarding world. No matter what course his life took from here on, he would be recognised every time he left the house, and would be acclaimed forever.
Harry walked into the small but comfortable room and threw himself back onto the bed. He looked up, realised what he was, and who he was, and he laughed out loud. He couldn't believe it was seven years since he had found out he was a wizard. Seven years of fearing the man he had now vanquished. The laughter rose in Harry's chest again as he realised he was free. He, Harry James Potter, was finally free, totally and utterly free.
There was a knock on the door. Harry stood, remembering he had locked the door after entering, a habit he was inclined to forget now there was not madman after his life. He walked to the door and opened it with a smile on his face.
Seeing who was at the door, his smile simply grew. Seamus, Neville and Dean all enveloped Harry in a huge bear hug, all talking at the same time. In between the 'we missed you' and 'you fantastic, stupid, amazing bastard', Harry heard 'Malfoy's been looking for you! Bloody muppet!'
Harry paused for a moment.
"Malfoy? What did he want?"
Neville giggled "We weren't sure. We said we'd tell you we saw him. He said can you find him later at some point. Said he's staying here. Anyway, we brought you some 'well done for defeating the dark lord' presents!"
The three young wizards bundled Harry onto the bed, and thrust several hastily wrapped and slightly lumpy gifts into his arms.
Harry looked at the gifts, wondering which to open first, and curious about what they could possibly be.
Neville picked one from the bottom of the pile and said "This one first Harry! This one, this one!"
Harry took the present, and unwrapped it quickly, not wanting Neville to explode messily all over is bed through excitement.
Inside the wrapping was a bright green T-shirt. Harry held it up. Across the front, in a shimmery silver, was scrawled, in Seamus' distinctive handwriting "I defeated the Dark Lord and that makes me better than you!" Harry couldn't help himself. The laughter bubbled up again and he impulsively hugged his three dorm mates tightly. Neville lifted another gift into Harry's hands.
This was a much smaller, slightly lumpier parcel than the first. Harry, now truly in the spirit of things, tore the wrapping off. It was a pair of Gryffindor red socks, with "Potter rocks our socks" written on in yellow. Harry laughed again, completely unable to stop looking at the socks and thinking about being free from Voldemort and the Death Eaters and free to enjoy his last year of wreaking havoc at school.
The last present was a black leather jacket. Harry slipped it on, liking the air of mature masculinity it gave him. He put his hands in the pockets and strutted around the room. Suddenly, his right hand found two badges in the bottom of the pocket. The first was emblazoned with "Potter rocks" and the other with "Snape sucks". Harry pinned them both to the front of the jacket and looked in the mirror, unable to wipe the smile off his face.
"Thanks guys. This means a lot. Now I can tell everyone in the world how great I am." Smiled the Gryffindor.
"You're welcome, Harry" said Dean, speaking for all three of the other boys. He checked his watch. "We'd better be off, got to catch the shops for some supplies, but we'll see you tonight for a few Butterbeers in the Cauldron."
"You bet you will! I'll be the one in the corner getting beaten up by Snape!"
Seamus, Neville and Dean rose and left Harry's room with simply a backward slung 'Bye Harry' and 'Laters, mate!' from Neville and Seamus.
Harry looked at his gifts. Standing in front of the full length mirror, he pulled off the jacket and his plain white T-shirt, and replaced them with his new shirt and his leather jacket. Picking up his wallet and his room key from the bedside table, he walked out of the room, locking the door on his way out.
Harry James Potter, vanquisher of the ubiquitous Dark Lord, Voldemort, wandered aimlessly down to Diagon Alley. He had a lot of money, and fancied spending a bit. His first stop was Quality Quidditch Supplies. He stocked up on Handle Polishing Serum and twig fixing glue, as well as purchasing a luxurious suede cover for his leg rest and a new pair of Dragon Hide and Suede Flying gloves. They were marketed as especially for Seekers, because of "that 'extra grip' for holding onto a wriggly snitch".
Harry had noticed at the end of last year, before the whole 'Dark Lord Vanquishing' malarkey, that his robes were getting a little short in the leg. So his next stop was Madam Malkins, to fit himself out with an entire new Wizard uniform. He walked in, and was met by Madam Malkin herself. She greeted him effusively and waved him onto one of the two podiums in the middle of the shop. 'Oh well', thought Harry. 'Nothing like being the centre of attention.'
What shocked him was what happened next. He heard Madam Malkin greeting another customer at the door of the shop. She ushered the newcomer onto the other podium. Harry, who still had his back to the other customer as the assistant measured every part of him from head to foot, almost fell off the podium at what he heard next.
"Well, well, if it isn't the man widely acclaimed as being the saviour of the wizarding world. Good summer?"
Harry turned sharply and came face to face with Draco Malfoy, who was, to his amazement, not sneering, but smiling.
"Afternoon Malfoy. Fantastic summer thank you. No death threats, no Dementors, no attempts on my life. Strange, but enjoyable."
He decided to play Malfoy at his own game and be nice, while he tried to figure out exactly what Malfoy's game was.
"Finally buying some new robes then?"
Harry watched curiously as Malfoy surveyed him from head to foot. Almost like he was…no, he wouldn't. Malfoy was just telling him in is own special way that new robes were definitely called for. Continuing with the 'being nice to Malfoy' ting, Harry smiled. What Draco saw was a real, genuine smile, probably the first of that kind that Draco Lucius Malfoy had ever seen grace the black haired teen's face.
"I felt I may as well leave Hogwarts in style, no matter in what state I may have conducted the past six years. I can finally think about something other than defending the world, and I decided to start with the way I look."
"The smile certainly suits you."
Harry then did something he didn't think he even could, and definitely not in front of Draco Malfoy. He blushed.
Draco burst out laughing.
"Some things will never change Potter, but I never thought I'd see you blush! Quite the little boy at heart, aren't we?"
Harry tilted his head forwards; letting some unruly black curls fall into his face, and then brushed them self consciously back onto the top of his head, meeting Draco's eyes.
The robe maker finished Harry's measurements, and helped him down from the podium.
"We'll have your robes delivered to your room at the Leaky Cauldron Mr. Potter, sir." She said quietly. "If you could come and choose the materials and pay, then you're all finished."
Harry looked up at Draco. He decided to bite the bullet and see what happened if he tried something really crazy.
"Leaky Cauldron, half an hour? The drinks are on the 'Prophet'"
"Sure. I'll be the one with a pink umbrella in his butterbeer." Replied the blonde.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed that, please review if you did, and umm, review if you didn't. This is going to be a bit of an epic I think. Quite excited!
Lily Potter.