"Hermione?"
Silence.
"Hermione?"
No response.
Harry had seen his best friend rushing out of the Great Hall, but had no idea where she had gone. He checked the library first, or what was left of it. Books were strewn all over the place, falling open to pages on the summoning spells, the draught of living death, and arithmancy. They were badly water-stained and often torn in half, or burned black, words obscured. Harry had known immediately Hermione wasn't there- she would have been horrified by the damage. Harry, too, couldn't help but feel anger at the state of the once great library. It certainly wasn't his favorite place- actually, it was probably his second most hated place in the entire castle, the first being the dungeon. But he had memories there- cramming before exams with Ron, hearing Hermione chiding them both for how behind they were, studying for the second task, looking for Nicolas Flamel. Harry grimaced and mentally added the library to the long list of things Voldemort had taken from him. He knelt to the floor and picked up a damaged book, splayed open and lying on it's face. Closing it gently, Harry turned it over and brushed the dust off of it.
It was Hogwarts, a History.
Harry smiled and gently placed it on Madam Pince's desk- fortunately still intact.
He then turned around and left the library, closing the doors behind him. Without seeing the fallen walls and the toppled bookshelves, the library looked peaceful, untouched by violence.
"Hey, Harry."
Harry spun around to see a gangly redhead striding towards him.
"Ron!" They paused awkwardly, unsure whether to hug each other or not.
After a moment, Ron said "Er, have you seen Hermione?"
"Actually, I was just looking for her," Harry replied. "I checked the library- I was thinking about going to the Gryffindor common room next."
"I already checked," Ron said. "It's pretty much gone- not really anywhere to go." He looked at his feet. "I'm sorry, mate."
Harry swallowed hard. "It's fine. Not a big deal."
And it shouldn't have been. After all he had lost, after all they had all lost, one tower, a few rooms-it shouldn't have hurt as much as it did. But Harry couldn't help but remember the comfort of his 4-poster bed and the warmth of the Gryffindor Common Room fire. His chest ached with longing, a feeling now so familiar it seemed normal.
Suddenly, Harry spoke. "The Room of Requirement!"
Ron looked up. "Er, what?"
"I know where Hermione is. I mean, I sort of know where she is- she's in the Room of Requirement!"
Ron looked skeptical. "Why would she go there?"
Harry paused, the said, "Because- well, the castle has been almost completely destroyed and her two favorite places, probably in the whole world- went with it. But the Room of Requirement could recreate them, right?"
"I guess..." Ron said slowly. His face broke into a familiar grin. "You're really starting to sound just like her, you know that?"
"Don't remind me," Harry groaned. "Now let's go find the real Hermione."
As they began walking towards the seventh floor, Ron said, "I mean, if you just grew your hair out a bit- maybe put in some fake teeth-"
For the first time in a long time, Harry laughed.
Hey guys! I know these chapters are really short, and I'm sorry about that, but I don't have a lot of time to write this story, so I'm just posting short chapters whenever I can. Anyway, I've been so pleased with the number of people who have been reading/following/favoriting this story! I'm having fun writing it, and I hope you're having some fun reading it. :)