Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it all belongs to JK Rowling.

Thankyou to everyone who has reviewed/ followed/ favourited so far! It makes my day, thankyou so much!

heronlove and m1347: I'm planning on a (very) awkward conversation between Hermione and Ron so they can, er, 'discuss' their relationship...and the reunion between Harry and Ginny, both of which are coming soon! (Next few chapters) I'm glad you're interested in how their relationships are developing!

Luc16: I'm so glad you're enjoying it! I love McGonagall's POV as well, it adds a different perspective, so she will be making another appearance very soon. :)

nirdoodle and Sleepwalkingluna14: Thankyou so much, I hope you're still enjoying it and thanks for being my first two reviews for this story!

And finally, to Guest: I'm so glad you like it so far and thanks for the tip; you're right, it does sound a bit American but I'm English and use it so it sounded all right to me but obviously, it is set in 1998 so not as much American slang would have been used by British teenagers so thanks for pointing it out, I obviously want to make this as accurate and in-character as possible, so pointing out things like that is really helpful! :)

Chapter 3: Freedom

Harry Potter was exhausted. He had slept peacefully for the first time in months, his body so fatigued he managed to sleep soundly despite the horrors he was sure would plague him in the nights to come. And yet, despite this, every inch of his body, bruised and battered, ached with tiredness. The 17 yr old wanted nothing more than curl up into a ball on his bed and sleep for days. However, unfortunately, there were pressing matters to attend to. Ginny. Her name sent a pang of longing through his heart and he hurriedly forced his mind to move on. The Weasleys, his surrogate family. Neville and Luna, who had been holding the fort with-her- here at Hogwarts whilst they had been gone. Even, if he was being honest, McGonagall and Kingsley. All of them deserved to know at least some of what the three of them had been doing this year and how he had miraculously cheated death a second time. He owed them the truth after so many lies. And then, of course, there was the clean-up, the huge task of restoring Hogwarts to it's former glory. The inevitable funerals. Sleep could wait. He had work to do.

Stumbling bleary-eyed into the common room, the sight that met his tired eyes brought a small smile to his face. His two best friends lay, fast asleep, curled around each other on the sofa. As he watched, Hermione stirred and slowly opened her eyes, looking around for a minute before her gaze settled on him standing, awkwardly in the doorway, exhausted, battle-worn, scarred. Smiling.

"Harry!" She smiled at him in greeting before remembering where she was, or rather, who she was with and blushing.

Harry smirked, the carefree expression feeling foreign as he realised that, for the first time since he had heard the now defunct prophecy, a huge invisible weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He nodded towards Ron.

"Took you two long enough."

Her blush deepened.

"It's not…we're not…we haven't even talked about the…" She was interrupted by Harry chuckling quietly.

"Oh shut up." She scolded fondly. Before Harry could retort, Ron woke up and for a while the three just sat there, revelling in the peace that seemed to have descended onto the castle.

And then suddenly all three of them were laughing, crying, hugging, all at the same time, as though they had gone mad, although, as Hermione reflected, they probably all had to have gone a little mad by now…

"We're free. We're finally free." Harry whispered when they'd calmed down.

"You mean you're finally free, mate." Ron corrected him. "You were the one with the prophecy. Me and Hermione just tagged along for the fun of it."

Harry looked at his two best friends, eyes suddenly burning as it hit him just how much they'd sacrificed to come with him, right from the moment they'd told him they were joining him in his quest to save the Philosopher's Stone.

"I-I never really thanked you for…" He struggled to put everything he was feeling into words. "I-thankyou. Both of you. Just- thanks for everything."

They beamed at him, Ron and Hermione, bruised and scarred but still by his side as they had been for years.

"You didn't really think we'd leave you on your own mate? I mean, scrawny little git like you wouldn't last five minutes without us. Couldn't have that on our conscience now could we?"

Ron yelped as Hermione hit him. She turned to look at her best friend, messy black hair sticking up all over the place- nothing much changed there-, so different from the small little boy who once saved her from a troll. So different and yet, she realised as he sat grinning at his friends' antics, nothing really changed. He would always be there, one third of a trio only complete with herself and Ron.

"We're your friends Harry." She reminded him. "There was never a choice. We need each other."

Hope you enjoyed it, please review and tell me what you think :)