no harps or ambrosia

Characters: Fred Weasley, Hermione Granger

Summary: There was no glory in surviving because there were things left to clean up.

Timeline: an AU where Fred survived the Final Battle

Prompts used: Dialogue: "I can honestly say that I do not care.", Who we were, "Fear is only a verb if you let it be." - I Do, Andrea Gibson

Lyrics: "Drink the poison lightly/'cause there are deeper and darker things than you/I know, 'cause I've been there too." - I'm Not The One, 3oh!3

Word count: 2.379

Having survived a devastating battle was not as great as most people would assume because for the survivors, the hardest part just started. There were injured wizards and witches to be healed, deaths to be mourned and relatives to be contacted. And it was easily said that sometimes, living was harder than dying.

Professor McGonagall for example had taken it onto herself to contact the parents of the students, claiming that it was her duty when the other teachers tried talking her out of this as she had been hurt as well.

Hermione who had listened to the exchange of words between her former teacher and the other heads of houses who wanted to take a part of this burden onto their own shoulders just shook her head as she walked down another hallway, waving her wand to repair the damage there. It was strange. The battle had been over for nearly a day now and many had left to carry the message of Voldemort's defeat out into the world and yet, it seemed irrational to her that the terror that had reigned for such a long time had finally passed.

A small smile crossed her face as she came across the infamous PortableSwamp that had miraculously survived the entire battle and the previous reign of death eaters in the castle. Shaking her head and turning around, she saw someone unexpected leaning against the wall.

"Fred," she said with a nod as she tapped her wand against a wall, muttering a spell to send the bricks back into their places. "Didn't you volunteer for the grounds?"

He shrugged as he looked at the PortableSwamp. "Ron told me that old Flitwick left a bit here … it's still strange to see it," he said. "Anyway, shouldn't you head back to the dorms and sleep a bit? I heard that Harry did that yesterday and I guess Ron too but you haven't left at all … just for a moment when you went away with Harry and Ron…"

She averted her gaze and looked back at the wall that no longer showed traces of curses. "So many died," she said slowly. "Colin Creevey … I am not sure whether you remember him."

"The kid with the camera, right? He was in Ginny's year…" Fred shook his head as he waved his own wand. "It's the saddest thing about a war if you ask me. People who didn't even got a chance to live died. Colin … like I said, he was in Ginny's year. That makes you think a lot."

"Weren't we all too young?" she asked, bitterness sneaking into her voice. "No one of us signed up for this. We used to be children like Colin once as well."

He sighed deeply as he looked away. "Before I entered this fight, George said something about how fear is only a verb if we let it be … just … I wasn't scared for my own life. I was worried about the others," he admitted. "You are right … I mean, when that wall came down and nearly buried me, I was damn lucky that Perce had his wand ready and stopped it from killing me."

He moved his head a little so that he could look at the witch who was still repairing the hallway. She looked too old, like she had seen the fate of the entire world within a second. Her eyes were tired and for a moment, he wondered whether she had ever wished not to be a witch in the past months – then again, being a muggle might have been even more dangerous.

"It was indeed a close call for you today," she said. "Well, it was a close call for many … Lavender nearly died when Greyback attacked her … Trelawney – Trelawney of all people – saved her."

"Well, so she's more than a fraud," Fred shrugged. "Anyway, you should take a break now."

"I don't need a break," she said as she turned around. "We should get this hallway done fast so that you can get back to your family. I guess that you are proud of your mother, right?"

He nodded. "I wouldn't have guessed that mum would go through with a killing curse but then … you know what people say – mums are unpredictable when her children are in danger," he said. "I mean … you once said something about muggle mums who suddenly develop the strength to lift trees to free their children," he shrugged as he waved his wand. "And I mean … Ginny…"

Hermione nodded. He did not have to say it. She had been there. She had seen how much luck Ginny had had that the curse had missed her. "Well, you don't have to worry anymore right now," she said. "Plus, we are nearly done here."

"Will you rest a little afterwards?" he asked as he tapped his wand against the frame of an empty portrait. The frame had suffered during the fights and everyone who usually lived in the portraits had left to either see more interesting scenes of the battle or to protect themselves. "I guess that neither Ron nor Harry would want you to collapse. Where are they, anyway?"

"Harry said that he would talk with Kingsley – something about the Malfoys," Hermione said as a frown appeared on her face. "Now, that the war is over, things will get messy, I guess. There are still death eater out there and so many supporters of pure-blood prejudice…"

He rolled his eyes. "Can't you just take a break, Granger?" he asked. "Seriously, I get that you are still worried – if my friend would be the Boy Who Lived, I would be worried about those things too. But right now, Harry and everyone else in this castle is relatively safe – as long as Voldemort doesn't get up but I don't think that this will happen. We still got McGonagall."

"She left to inform … to inform Colin's parents," she said softly, fists clenching by her sides. "He … he was one of us and she was our head of house. I … I think she feels responsible."

He was silent for a moment. "This was war," he said, helplessly raising his hands. "Wars rarely end without terrible sacrifices. And Colin … without wanting to glorify his death, he died the same death as a hero. He was a real Gryffindor … and … we all can be proud of him. I am a brother myself … and … if he died with the knowledge that his death might serve the purpose of making life for his brother – Dennis was his name, right? – easier and safer, I guess he died … content. Not happy but … content at least. And that's … comforting."

Her hand trembled so much that she nearly broke her wand by hitting it too hard against a half-destroyed pillar. "I feel bad," she said. "Your mother, Colin … they fought to protect. I chose the … the easy way out … making my parents forget me and leave the country … I am a coward."

"Don't judge yourself too hard," he said. "It was probably no easy choice for you either … and … I guess that I would have been too selfish to make my family forget me," he added. "Bravery and cowardice got many faces, Granger, that's what Dumbledore would say." He grabbed into his packet and took out a small box that contained candies. "That's our newest product," he said.

"Bragging, again?" she sighed as she frowned at him. "At least you got no first years to test it."

"Well, Miss Prefect, you will be surprised to hear what this can do," he said without taking offence in what she had said. "We still need a name but since we worked on … medicine when we invented your favourite product line of ours, we tried our hand in something strictly medical."

"So it won't create migraine or something?" she asked as she glanced at the gleaming sweets that were inside the box. She did not trust this kind of thing for good reasons.

"I call them Dreamless Sleep Sweets but the name is not good enough for when we start selling them," he said and for a moment, a dark expression crossed his face. "After the events of these days, I guess that it will be sold out within days. A lot of people will need draughts to sleep properly," he sighed. "You said that Won-Won's ex-girlfriend was attacked by Greyback? She will need products like these sweets for sure. You too, I guess."

She stepped away from him. "I am not sure what you mean."

"Did anyone ever tell you that you aren't a good actress, Granger?" he said. "Well, I am telling you this now. You are a terrible actress and an even worse liar. Anyway, you have nightmares."

"I don't," she protested weakly. "Why would I have nightmares? Don't be ridiculous."

"So you don't dream that your parents might hate you for what you did?" he asked, a knowing gleam in his eyes and she remembered that while Fred was certainly not a good student, he was quite skilled when it came to other people – which had made him a popular student back in the days. "Don't worry so much, yes? You can and will make it alright again. You aren't the brightest witch of your age for no reason, are you? Look, I am the last one who wants to make you feel bad or to meddle around in your life but … if you need to talk with someone, I am here."

"Why are you suddenly so nice to me? I thought…" she did not finish the sentence.

"Ron may be a pain in the arse most of the time but he is still my little brother … and you helped him to survive – since the first year, I guess," he said slowly. "And I am no gentleman … but I am also no ungrateful bastard. Bloody hell, Granger, my family doesn't only owe Harry that we are still relatively complete … we see what you did in the background."

She smiled as she looked around in the repaired hallway. "Thank you," she said as she yawed. "You are right, though, I could use a break," she added.

"And I would like to see the common room again," he said. "So I escort you … just in case."

She shrugged as she pocketed her wand. "It will take a while to reconstruct the castle completely," she sighed as she looked at the destruction that had not been fixed yet. "I mean … we are progressing fairly fast but … as for now, we are only working in the areas with little to no destruction. The entire castle…" she shook her head.

"You are worrying too much," he said. "It will take time to rebuild Hogwarts. It will take time to reconstruct society and everything else. But … as for now, there is no enemy like Voldemort. I agree with those who say that some of his followers are nearly as bad as he was – Bellatrix Lestrange is the best example, I guess – but the worst of them have fallen already."

"You are right," she said as they headed upstairs. "We were … lucky," she finished even though it felt like betrayal to everyone who had not survived, to everyone who had been killed. She thought of Tonks and Lupin – and their son who would never know his parents and she wondered whether Harry felt some sort of connection to Teddy because of the similarities.

"Lucky," he agreed and they were silent as they reached the portrait of the lady they knew just too well. For a moment, she wondered whether they would get in without knowing the password but then, the portrait opened the way into the common room without a word as if the lady knew that a heavy exhaustion had consumed them now that the adrenaline of the battle and the first drive to repair everything had faded away.

"I, um, will head upstairs now," she said as she faced the stairs that led to the girls' dorms.

He nodded and so she walked upstairs. She had just checked the first two rooms whether there was an empty bed when she heard Fred cursing. She turned around and saw how the red-haired man – because he was no longer the mischievous boy he once was – struggled to get upstairs.

"You know that boys aren't allowed in the girls' dorm," she called out to him.

"Yeah, yeah," he said before he somehow managed to manipulate the curse that was on the stairs to let him upstairs regardless of his gender. "Forbidden or not, I can honestly say that I do not care," he grinned as he stood in front of her. "I had forgotten something," he added as he held out the box with the golden sweets. "I know that you are no fan of this kind of magic but, well, there is a time and place for everything – damn, now I'm seriously quoting Perce – and right now, it's not the time for nightmares. There is a long road ahead of you, ahead of everyone … and no one should start a journey without being prepared. I know what I am talking about."

She nodded in understanding. "You invented them to stop having nightmares?"

"Seeing your entire family die every night isn't easy," he said. ""I would, um, appreciate it if you wouldn't mention this part to Ron," he added. "The thing is … I have a pretty good idea of what you dream and … I wouldn't wish this kind of dream for anyone … probably not even Malfoy. Anyway, here, have some of the sweets, yes. you can share them with whoever comes to sleep here too. And … you're a Gryffindor. You will find your parents and fix things."

She smiled as she looked at the golden sweets he had given her. They were shaped like flowers and stars and other things that were generally pleasant to look at. "Thank you, Fred," she said. "For the words of encouragement and the sweets."