Disclaimer: I am a college student, so that means I am poor, which means that I do not own Harry Potter or anything to do with him…unfortunately.

Timeline: The story starts around the year 2000. Two years after the final battle.

Summary: Harry has saved the wizarding world, but after all of the celebrations were over, everyone moved on and seemingly forgot all about the boy that saved them. Left to his own devices, can be overcome the pain that comes with witnessing so much pain and death? Help may be on the way in the form of red hair. Slightly AU mainly because I cannot write in a world where Fred Weasley is dead.

Chapter Three: In the Meadow

The air was pleasant and warm, and she was grateful for it. It was times like this that she treasured. Stretched out here in the meadow, with nothing on her mind and nothing but time, it was easy to forget…before. The memories from that earlier time faded more and more as time passed, but she still held onto some of them, almost stubbornly. But she knew that even those would fade in time, no matter how hard she tried to hang onto them.

Still, she figured that it was a small price to pay for the kind of life that she led now. She was happy, content, and she was never alone. She would give quite a bit to be able to stay this way for eternity.

Sadly, she knew that that would not be the case. Even though she had been here for a fair amount of years, she knew that her time to leave would be soon. Her best friend had already left not long before, and she figured that it was only a matter of time before she was called to leave as well.

She knew that it was her purpose, her destiny to return. Almost everyone did of course, and she knew that when she did go back, it would be for some higher purpose, but that did not mean that she had to like it. It was fun here! There was none of the stress or pain that went with living on the other world. Here, she could, and often did, forget all of that. She could forget that she had once been mortal, and as such, could forget all of the mess that went with being mortal.

Well, if she could forget her past memories, then she could forget that she had to return soon. It was easier to push those thoughts to the side, at least for the moment while she enjoyed her current environment for just a bit longer.

Picking up a nearby lily, she held the flower to her nose and inhaled deeply, smiling as she did so. She knew there were flowers "down there", but she was also willing to bet that none looked or smelled as good as these.

Laying back down on the soft ground, the girl who was once known as Gabrielle Gryffindor and would soon be known by another name, sighed contently. The future could wait, here in this moment, time did not exist.


Harry glanced up from the newspaper that he was perusing over a light breakfast. The kitten that he had found the week before had wasted no time in making herself right at home. The feline was currently fast asleep on top of his sofa right in the middle of a patch of sun that was streaming through the window.

That bloody cat spends more time sleeping than any animal I have ever seen.

There was no trace of annoyance in his musings. In truth, Socks, as he had decided to call her due to her markings, had become a small blessing to Harry. She seemed to have a sense of his emotional state and almost went out of her way to make sure that he was doing alright. If he did not know any better, he would have sworn that the cat was doing it on purpose, like she knew what she was doing and wanted to take care of him.

It was silly of course. Cats, while one of the smarter animals around, were still animals and therefore were not capable of thinking as humans do. What did she know about feelings or emotions? Still, it was a welcome distraction and Harry did appreciate the small amount of comfort that came with having her furry body pressed up against his; or to hear her purr softly on his chest as he fell asleep.

Kreacher had not known what to make of his new addition at first. He had started out a bit jealous as he viewed it as his job to take care of his master, and this new being in his house was usurping some of his power. After a couple of days however, he realized that there were some things that he could not do for Harry, and conceded that he could team up with the cat to make his master happy. Once this was accomplished, the cat and the house elf fell into a guarded, though friendly alliance, both having the same common goal.

He was about to go back to his paper, when he noticed Socks staring at him. While that in itself was not all that unusual, this was…different than her usual smug 'I'm a cat therefore I am superior to you" stare; the stare that Harry privately called the Draco Malfoy look. No, this was different, and once again he got the feeling that this cat knew more about him than he cared to know. Living in a world full of magic, this should have come as no surprise, but he was not at all sure how comfortable he was having a pet that stared at him like this. Was he dealing with an animagus sent to spy on him?

Paranoid now, Harry sat up and walked over to the cat, pulling his wand out as he did so. He pointed it at Socks and with a quick flick of his hand, performed the homorphus charm, the same one that was used back in his third year to reveal the treacherous rat Pettigrew. The soft blue light enveloped the cat and….nothing. Save a mild look of annoyance for being disturbed, Socks remained as she had been…a simple black and white cat.

Chastising himself for being so paranoid, Harry turned and went back to the table and to his paper, intent on finishing an article before he had to go and get ready for work. Life may be slightly better for him now, but it was not perfect, and there was still the fact that the world still needed his protection, even if he didn't think that they deserved it.


Well, that had been slightly annoying. Socks had simply been taking a well-deserved rest when Harry had to come over and disturb her with that sill blue light. Okay, she had slipped up a little bit by staring at him.

She knew him, and knew that he was paranoid almost to the point of hysteria. She had been told that and living with him for the past week or so had only confirmed it. So she should have known that any action outside of the ordinary would set him off. She would have to be more careful in the future.

Harry thought that their meeting was pure chance, but Socks knew otherwise. She had been sent her to provide what comfort she could to the troubled man, and so far, she seemed to be doing a good job, but she was only one per…er cat, and there was only so much she could do.

When he had gone for the day, she stood up, stretched, and gave a huge yawn before she settled down again and started to wash a paw. She had never been a cat before, having previously been human, but the powers that be had decided that a cat was what Harry needed most right now, and who was she…he to argue? Yes, while he could not, and would not argue with those in power, he was more than a little annoyed over their choice of putting him in a female cat's body. When he was human, he had been male, and getting used to the opposite gender, even in a cat's body, was proving to be challenging. He had to start thinking in the perspective of a female.

Still washing and getting to work on a particular tough spot on her back, she reflected a bit. She had agreed to this assignment because Harry Potter held a special place in her heart. She had seen what he had done two years ago and his steady decline since then. So when she was asked to lend her aid, she had jumped at the chance.

Progress was being made, but there was still a long way to go. She would do her best, but she hoped and prayed that the promised reinforcements would arrive soon. Right now, she could use the help. Being in a cat's body did have its limitations.

Giving another huge yawn, the cat who wasn't a cat settled down for yet another nap. She did need her strength.


To say that she was tired would be to tell a lie through gross understatement. Never in her life had Ginny Weasley been this exhausted. She had just arrived home after her first day of healer training and she felt as though she had been run through the ringer. She had expected that they would just ease her in the first day, not give her anything too strenuous, maybe have her spend a few days in classrooms learning techniques.

She had been wrong. Very, very wrong.

After a short one hour orientation to the training facility at St. Mungos, she and the rest of the small group of trainees had immediately been thrown into a shift at the trauma ward; supervised very, very closely by apprentice healers of course.

They were not allowed to dispense potions or other medications, nor were they allowed to any complex healing or diagnosis, but they were constantly asked what they would do in a situation and if correct, would be shown the procedure by their supervisor, and if wrong, would earn a scornful look and then be shown the correct way.

Only two more years of this, Ginny thought to herself as she kicked off her shoes and plopped wearily into the overstuffed chair she had just purchased for her new home a few days ago.

Her mother, of course, had wanted her to stay at the burrow while she completed her training. Molly had insisted that it was because she thought it would be easier for Ginny to be around family and support as she made her way through, but privately, Ginny knew it was because she was simply not ready to let her little girl go so soon.

In the end, with the support of her father, Ginny had convinced her mother that not only was she ready to move out on her own, but insisted that it would be better for her in the long run. Hermione had helped her find a tiny, yet comfortable and affordable flat near the family home, and Molly helped her decorate, something that helped ease the pain of her leaving.

Still, she never questioned her decision to become a healer. Except for perhaps playing professional quiddich, it was the only thing she had wanted to do for as long as she could remember. She was thrilled at the idea of actually being entrusted with the care of another human, and doing whatever it took to make them healthy and whole again. It was sort of an adrenaline rush.

Lazing in the chair, she let her mind and her gaze wander. Before too long, her eyes fell on a picture on her mantle…obviously placed there by her mum along with the other dozen or so assorted pictures of her family. The picture that caught her gaze though, was one of Ron and Harry. Both looked to be about fourteen years old and from their sweaty faces and the brooms at their side, they had just finished playing quiddich. Ron had his arm around Harry and they were both smiling in that easy way that comes with being best friends.

Not for the first time since she had come back, Ginny's thoughts wandered to Harry. She had not seen or even heard from him in more than a few years. After the war ended she saw him for a few moments here and there, but they were never alone, always surrounded by family or friends. They never had a chance to….reconnect. She had thought for certain that he would seek her out when the war was over, to try and rekindle what they had had in her fifth year, she had even had a plan to make his grovel a bit. But, it had never happened.

She thought about seeking him out herself, but her stupid pride got in the way of that happening. And before long, he completely cut off contact and that was that. Of course she still heard how he was doing through Hermione via Ron, who Harry still talked to from time to time, but that closeness that she once had with him that, if she was honest with herself, still craved, was gone and she prayed that it was not gone forever.

Maybe now that she was back, things could be different. Maybe she would put her pride to the side for a little bit and actually go to him, to talk to him. She would confront him, forcibly if needed. Even if he wanted nothing to do with her, and her heart would break if that were the case, she still needed some kind of closure.

Because you see, while Ginny still cared for him, perhaps loved him, there was no doubt in this world that her family, especially his mother loved Harry unconditionally, and by him pulling away from them was hurting them tremendously, and it torn her apart to see it; yet another reason to confront him. She loved her family dearly and hated to see them in so much pain.

Resolving to make plans to find him and have a little chat with the boy who lived, Ginny reluctantly pulled herself out of her chair and shuffled to the loo. It was still early in the evening, but she had a very early morning and she had best get some rest and prepare for it now.


The Next day:

Having gone through the usual security check in procedure, Harry shuffled his way to the auror department; being careful to avoid eye contact with anyone. Even after all these years, he still imagined that there were those who stared, who pointed at him and whispered comments behind their hands about him. Once, he had even caught a few of those comments.

Is that Harry bloody Potter? Merlin, he is looking rough!

I can't believe they let that nutter be an auror

It's amazing he hasn't offed himself yet.

Real or imagined, Harry still heard them, and he was in not in the right state of mind to deal with it. And he was not sure there was a right state of mind to deal with this kind of thing. No one ever cared enough to tell him.

So intent was he on getting to his office so he could shut a door behind him, he did not see the person that he collided with until it was too late.

"Oi! Watch where you're going you….oh, hey Harry, all right mate?"

Luckily, the person that Harry had chosen to literally run into was Ron Weasley. Ron may still be his best mate, but he still had trouble talking to even him. He managed what he hoped was a passible smile and helped Ron off the floor where he had fallen on his bum.

"Sorry Ron. Yeah, I'm fine. Just wasn't paying attention is all." Hoping that was enough, he turned to resume his journey to his sanctuary. But Ron was not done.

"Harry, mate. Hermione and I…."

Damn. He was not going to get off easy after all. Taking a deep breath, he turned again to face his best mate.

"Look Ron, I know what you are going to say. 'Hermione and I are worried about you. Would you like to come over for dinner and have a little chat?' Am I close"?

Ron's face started to turn red in embarrassment and Harry knew that he had hit the mark.

"We are just…."

Harry held up his hand to stop him. "Worried about me, I know, and I appreciate it, I really do, but you and Hermione both have to know that what I am dealing with, what I am going through, you can't help me with, as much as you want to. I love you both and appreciate your support, and IF I am ever ready to talk, I will come to you, I promise. Now if you will excuse me, I have to get to work."

With that, Harry left an open mouthed Ron still staring at his retreating back as he made his way to his office.


This was bad, this was very bad. Not more than fifteen minutes after Harry had arrived at auror headquarters; there had been an emergency call. A former death eater, one who had been laying low for years now and who they had been tracking for just as long had been caught in a wizarding neighborhood and had holed himself up in a house that contained a family of six…mother, father, three kids, and a grandmother. The suspect was holding all six hostage and the house was surrounded by both aurors and hit wizards.

Harry paced outside of the house. He was in charge of this unit and everyone was waiting on him to make a decision. He carefully weighed the options in his head. This guy was deranged, there was no doubt about that and he had to be treated very carefully. He knew that they were out there, and one wrong move and innocent people would die.

If they waited too long, he may get impatient and do something rash, like killing the hostages. If they charged in, he would get spooked and start killing.

After a bit more thought, he made his decision. He motioned for his assistant, a man named Lawrence to approach, when he did so, Harry outlined the plan.

"Nick, if a bunch of us all go in there at once, bad things are going to happen. So you and I are going to sneak in the back way. With any luck, we can sneak up behind him, disarm him, and at the same time shield the hostages against anything else he may have. Any objections"?

Nick Lawrence didn't. He had worked with Harry for two years now and had seen the man work wonders in situations like this. If Harry thought that this plan would work, then it most likely would. He nodded his assent and the two men started to approach the house as one.

Silently, they made their way through the back entrance to the house and crept as silently through the house as they could. It was not a large house, so it did not take long for them to find their target.

The death eater was standing with his back to them, his wand pointed to what appeared to be the father. And….

At his feet appeared to be a bundle of clothing, but looking closer, Harry could tell that it was not. His heart jumped into his throat when he realized that they were already too late; at the killer's feet was the grandmother. He could not be certain that she was dead, but his heart told him that she was.

Rage overcame him and without thinking, he took action. He rushed into the room, intent on pounding the murderer to the ground. However, the criminal must have sensed his approach or saw him out of the corner of his eye because he whipped around in reaction. And upon seeing who was coming, gave an evil smile before quickly killing the man he held before whipping his wand around in one fluid motion to point straight at Harry.


At the same time, approximately twenty miles away, a dish crashed to the floor of the Burrow as Molly Weasley stared in horror at her family clock. Harry's hand was now pointed at MORTAL PERIL.

A/N: Evil I know, but what is a fan fiction without a cliffhanger? I promise that I will not keep you all waiting for an update though. No more than a week, but most likely less. Several of you have told me that this is a more realistic portrayal of Harry after the war. Thank you, that is what I am trying to get across. As always, please review!