AN: Not so surprised by the lack of…everything. Ah, well. Thanks to those that are brave enough to read this. With that being said, this is a rewrite of an older chapter because I actually don't mind the dialogue that much.

The Doctor Who reference is from the episode Rose, and the title is from Comes and Goes (in Waves) by Greg Laswell.

Disclaimer: I sound too Yankee-Doodle-Dandy to be JK Rowling.

Title: Not Alone at All

Word Count: 1204

Summary: Reboot!The hardest thing to do after a war is to wake up. 101 one-shots in a gender-bended universe of people getting better.

There was stillness during the first month since the war ended. It was as if the world was having a hard time realising that the bloodshed was over, that people could be free again. The weather had gotten lighter since then, a proverbial winter ending and a time of summer beginning. A time of change.

There was a creek that passed through the Burrow's property. It was a small thing, very narrow and clustered with rocks on the beds, but it was deep enough to give even a full-grown wizard a feeling of displacement. All the Weasley children were taught how to swim in the creek. It was filled with memories of children jumping, splashing, and of young laughter. In the winter it would ice over and be perfect for some small-time ice-skating. Then the ice would break off when spring came and gently warmed up in the sunshine. The happy coming of summer made the water gurgle and slosh around a small mound of earth; an old tree swayed nearby, and a frayed strand of rope followed its movements.

Gid knelt by the water and checked to see if the temperature was warm enough. "It's fine," he told Halley. He stood up and turned around to properly speak to her. "Do you have any more excuses?"

It was for the past week or so that she had been making up excuses to not wanting to swim. None of them were very good, and most were very thin. It had taken some effort on his part, but she'd agreed on the condition that after the lesson he would practice duelling with her.

"Wait, I have one more," she said with a small smile.

Gid crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Really?"

"Crocodiles. Or alligators. I keep forgetting which is more dangerous."

"Why," Gid asked for no particular reason, "would there be a crocodile in a small creek?"

"Baby crocodiles."

"Halley, that's…" He struggled for the right words. "That's the saddest one I've heard from you. I'm almost ashamed."

Halley fought to keep a dry smile off her face. "Then maybe we should abandon this lesson for some other time?"

Gid pretended to think about it. "Nope. Too bad. I'm going to teach you how to swim."

"That's not fair."

"Oh, please." He held out his hand. "Are you, an incredibly foolish Gryffindor, that scared of the some water?"

The (in)famous Gryffindor courage felt bruised from that comment. Halley dropped her glasses to the ground, stomped pass him, and into the creek. She stood near the banks so that the slightly chilled water only came up to her knees. The large shirt she wore billowed, and the edges grew darker with the water. "See? I'm in the water. Happy?" She scowled as she faced him, unable to read his expression without her glasses.

Her answer was a loud splash. She screamed and threw her hands up; the water collectively grew into a small wave and drenched her. Gid's red hair popped up for breath, and he doggy-paddled to her. He stumbled as he stood up on the weak settlement. "You need to be in the water, git. Not waddling."

Halley opened her mouth to speak, but was momentary speechless. The monster in her chest stirred; interested in seeing him stand so close to her. It was a pleasing sight to see him wet, shirtless, and with the sun falling around him. Even if he did looked more like a blob without her glasses, she was content to keep looking. The last time she'd seen him without a shirt was the summer before Sixth Year, and he'd been trying to cajole her into swimming back then, too. Now it was two years later and it wasn't just height that had changed...

"Halley? Earth to Potter?" Gid snapped his fingers in front of her face. "You can stop ogling now."

Halley shook herself out of her stupor. "I was not," she declared firmly, "ogling at you. I was wondering what happened to your shirt."

He pointed to the riverbed where Halley squinted to see a lumpy shape of cotton laid discarded.

There was a brief moment of awkward silence.

"To be swimming," said Gid. "You have to be in your swimming costume."

Halley looked at her shirt that covered said costume. "I think I'm fine like this."

"Halley."

"No. I'm quite fine." She wrapped her arms around her, slightly shivering.

"Hey, I'm willing to walk around without my shirt for this." He held his arms apart, and a Weasley-red blush started to crawl up his face. "All in front of you, might I add. And I get it, you don't like your scars, but no one likes having them, either."

"We all came out as a mess, didn't we?" Halley asked a moment later. Her arms dropped to her sides.

"Life's a mess, you're a mess I'm a mess, everything's a mess," Gid said. "I think that's how life is after a war, everyone is lost and confused and we don't know what to do next except to hold onto the nearest person and hope for the best."

"I was hoping for something more optimistic."

"And I was hoping that something blunt would enter that thick head of yours quicker."

"That's usually the case." Halley looked down the path of the river, watching it twist and turn in the side of the mountain. She thought back to her dreams and nightmares. The monster in her chest receded as the gloomier feelings came back. "How long do you think it will take to become less of a mess? Because every time I get dressed or look in a mirror, I see the scars and I remember, and it doesn't go away, at least not for me. My world has been ripped from under my feet but everything feels still." She made little splashes in the water as she moved. "I should feel different, except all I feel is—"

"Exhausted?" Gid guessed. Halley nodded and her shoulders slumped from letting the weight off of her shoulders. "You know, for the whole life's a mess, word ripping under your feet change, I think there could be worst than feeling exhausted."

"I know." Halley closed her eyes and willed herself not to think of those darker moments. She shrugged once more and moved to sit down on the riverbank with her head in her hands. She felt terribly exhausted again. "I just want my life to make sense for once."

He sat down next to her, his feet floating in the water. "For what it's worth, I think you've been handling it well."

"No, I'm not," she mumbled. "You said it, we're all bloody messes. I'm the messiest mess there is."

"Now that last part I didn't say," Gid frowned. "Honest, you're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. You have to at least believe that. Can I?" He held his arm out that she allowed to hug her. He tugged her closer and she rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"I'm tired of being strong," she said.

"Then hold onto me," he said. "I think we can get through this together."