Harry thought a lot about his idea over the next few days. So much so that Remus had to repeat himself several times to get Harry's attention. When, whilst eating dinner one night, Remus had asked Harry to pass the water jug three times and got no response, he decided to find out just what was going on in the young man's mind.

"Harry? Helloooooo? Anybody in there?"

"Oh sorry Remus, I was lost in thought."

"So I see. Since Poppy doesn't trust me not to do magic, she still has my wand so could you pass the water jug please?" He took the jug, poured a glass and drank deeply. "Ah. That's good. Only took four attempts to get it. I'm sure I'll be at double figures by the end of the week!" Harry smiled slightly. "Why so preoccupied Harry? Is my gorgeous company not good enough for you?"

"Well..." Harry smirked "you could be a bit shorter, more redheaded and a girl. THEN I might find your company gorgeous!"

"That's the Harry I know! Where's he been these last few days? Thinking of a certain Weasley, eh?"

"Nope. Thinking about a castle. And a school."

"Hogwarts is taking over you even when you're not there now! You should take a break. I'm sure we can convince Poppy to let me go to the beach for a weekend - I know a really good spot where your grandparents used to take me, James and Sirius."

"I suppose she never said where exactly you had to rest! Could work I suppose, but you'll have to persuade her!" Harry grinned and then lapsed back into thoughtful mode.

"Come on. Out with it." Remus said.

"What?"

"Whatever's on your mind. It's clearly not just castle rebuilding. I might be an invalid, but I can still see that something is bothering you. Tell me."

"You'll think it's daft..."

"I'm a Marauder Harry. Daft is what I do! The dafter the better."

"OK. If you insist. You know that day I ranted at you about the castle workforce?" Remus nodded. "I've been thinking that I might actually do it. We don't need a castle and it just makes us stuck behind the times. The Wizarding World needs to move on."

"Hang on a minute Harry. Backtrack a bit. You might do what?"

"Build a school. Leave Hogwarts as a ruin, maybe turn it into a school trip or something. A monument to all those who died in the war. It'll cost loads to repair, take years and then thirty years down the line this war will just be another page in the history books. I don't want that. George, Moody, Tonks - did they all die for nothing? There won't be any stupid houses in my school either."

"They died so that we could all live Harry. We won, you won."

"So many good people died for me. They deserve to get something in return. I will give them Hogwarts." Determination and fierce pride shone in Harry's eyes. "Maybe the castle's destruction was meant to be." Harry suddenly stood and summoned his cloak. "Don't wait up for me, I might be late."

Remus watched Harry leave in shock. Then he walked slowly over to the fireplace and tossed some floo powder in.

"McGonagall residence!" he called into the flames.

"Remus! It's good to see you!" Minerva said.

"You too Minerva. It's been too long."

"Indeed it has my friend. I'm just glad you're still with us. What can I do you for?"

"Is any of Hogwarts habitable?"

"Bits. Most of the ground floor is rubble and all of the towers have structural damage. The Great Hall will need to be entirely rebuilt but the dungeons were pretty much spared. A lot of the rooms on the upper floors have minor damage, but most of that can be fixed by magic. Many staircases are gone and none of them move so there are some places we haven't even been able to check out yet."

"You can apparate in there at the moment though?"

"Yes, nearly all the wards fell. That's the biggest problem we have at the moment, getting them back up."

"I think Harry might be going to Hogwarts tonight. He said that he didn't want the victims of this war to just be a line in a history book. He wanted the castle left as it is in memory of those who died. He's wants to build a new school instead."

"Thankyou for the warning Remus. I shall go to Hogwarts myself tonight and see if I can find him."

"Minerva...thankyou." There were tears in Remus's eyes.

"He deserves everything I can do and more. You both do. Goodnight Remus." Minerva smiled through the flames.

"Goodnight Minerva."

Remus tried to finish his food, but found he had lost his appetite. Giving that up, he picked a book up and tried to read but he couldn't concentrate on that either. Midnight came and went. As did one and two o'clock. He couldn't sleep. All he could think about was Harry. He had been staring into the fire for four hours when he heard the door click open.

Seeing his best friend's son like that made Remus gasp. Harry's face was red and blotchy with distinct tear tracks visible in the firelight. It also looked as if he had had his face pressed closely up against something. Harry's hair was tousled and his eyes looked exhausted.

"She said I could" Harry croaked out when he met Remus' enquiring gaze. "She said the only repairs would be to make it safe. She said everything would be preserved and everyone could come and look around, touch things and see how it was. This will never be forgotten Remus, it won't be."

Harry flung himself at Remus and cried into his chest. Whether they were tears of relief, grief, pain or happiness Remus could not tell but he knew it could only be a good thing for Harry. Half an hour later both were asleep next to each other on the sofa.