Dear Diary

by G.M.Rivers

After the war, Hermione decides Harry needs help getting over everything. No muggle psychologist would ever be able to handle him, so she decides he should write in a diary. Not that Harry agrees with her plan. Even so, Hermione can be very convincing when she wants to be, as all those who ever stood in her way know. (Deals with a slightly darker take on the war)

4. August 20th 1998

August 20th 1998

Dear Diary,

Hermione plans to go back to Hogwarts once september comes. She says it's important to finish our education. I'm not sure I agree. After everything that's happened, I thought I would have jumped at the chance to experience Hogwarts as it was supposed to be. No Voldemort, no death tournaments, no professors out to kill me. I was wrong. I can't seem to find a purpose to it. What does it matter if mars is closer to earth on such and such days if the part of the planet where we actually live is currently full of destruction? Who cares about shady readings of tea leaves when the present is so messed up? How can knowing about one hundred and six different instances of conflicts between goblins and wizards help me to get over the fact that I killed someone? I learned a lot in my time at Hogwarts, but there's nothing more for me to learn there. Astronomy, History of Magic, Divination, they are all useless when faced with a society on the brink of collapse.

The wizengamot is in tatters, many seats were left empty or in the hands of much too young heirs. The wizarding world is nowhere near ready to go on as if nothing has happened. There are laws to be passed, positions to be filled. Wounds to be healed.

As heir to the Potter and Black family lines there is a lot of work waiting for me. But even outside the world of politics, there are things I need to do. Not as the boy-who-lived, but as a person. I need time to grieve for the world I thought I had, even if most of it has been broken for a while.

The war may be over but there's still a lot that needs to be done. The people of magical britain are still scared. The streets are empty once the sun goes down, windows closed, doors locked. Auror patrols can be seen often enough, but with the losses they suffered during the war, they are spread too thin. Burglaries are common place amidst the less affluent streets. Knockturn Alley is a hub of criminal activity, full of disgruntled werewolves, vampires, and junior death eaters than never really got to dive deeper into the cause. I expected more, I guess. I thought places like Knockturn would fade into memory once the war was over. I was sure that the prejudice would fade too. How naive I was. The war wasn't the problem, it was a symptom, I see that now. The real problem is the people. They are unwilling to change.