Harry spent a few minutes in lighthearted conversation with his friends before they turned somber. He almost wanted to bolt when he felt the atmosphere shift, knowing what was to come.

"Harry," Hermione said in a quiet voice as she placed a gentle hand on his arm, "How are you doing, really? I think it's great that you can smile and joke with us. I'm just worried that you're bottling up your emotions."

"I'm okay. A part of me is grieving because we lost so many. It's just that we need to keep on living to honor their sacrifices. They would want us to live and appreciate everyone that we still have." Harry smiled sadly as he spoke and Hermione squeezed his arm in support.

"Would you tell us what happened? You just disappeared and then he said… he said that you were dead. We were so scared that we'd lost you too."

Her eyes glistened with tears as she spoke. Ron pulled her closer and left his arm draped over her shoulders.

"I can't explain everything," he cautioned before giving a condensed version of the events leading to Voldemort's final defeat. He left out the resurrection stone, the deception around the wand, and L. The stone, he thought, would be better off forgotten. It had too much potential to cause hurt even if well-meaning. The wand would be a temptation. He knew that his friends would try to understand why he did not want to use it, but he found himself reluctant to speak of the subject in general. And L, well, he would never forget the advice from second year. If hearing voices from the walls was bad, having one take up residence in your head was worse.

"Oh Harry. Are you sure you're alright?"

"I will be, Hermione. Right now though, I really need some sleep. I'm sure you both could use the sleep too. Actually, before we go, do you have the energy to do a spell for me, Hermione?"

She sat a little straighter and ran a scrutinizing look over her friend. "Are you hurt?"

Harry had already started clearing out his mokeskin pouch, setting the items in a clear space on the desk with near reverence. "No, I just wondered if you were up to perform that undetectable extension charm one more time?" He waved the empty pouch slightly in emphasis.

"I can't do that! Harry, that spell is highly regulated. When Scrimgeour showed up at the Burrow, I almost panicked, thinking he was going to arrest me. If the ministry hadn't fallen, I may have faced charges."

"He's just toppled the ministry again. If anyone were to complain, you just point them to Harry. There probably won't even be a fine for him." Ron laughed. "Hell, he could probably use one of the unforgivables in front of witnesses and walk away squeaky clean."

Harry restrained himself from reacting to that statement and forced a smile. Ron was probably thinking of the imperious curse, used in Dumbledore's "For the Greater Good" fashion to get into Gringotts. Harry couldn't help but think instead of Carrow's howls of pain as the Death Eater suffered at the end of his cruciatus curse. He felt no regret for the unforgivable, only he decidedly did not want his use of it known.

Hermione predictably caved to the request and set to perform the expansion. She called a book from her own bag, flipping through to a memorized spot to check the incantation. All the while, she grumbled good-naturedly that she was likely to mess the spell up as she was quite out of practice for non-defensive wand work.

Her friends just smiled indulgently and let her rant. It brought back memories of Hermione frantically over-analyzing her tests. Now a fond remembrance rather than the annoyance it had been originally.

She finished her read through of the spell and took the bag to a dusty student desk. Harry and Ron followed, standing where they had a clear view of the work space. Hermione centered herself to begin casting. She first drew a circle into the dirt coating the area around the pouch with a finger, then took a deep breath and began to chant. Harry watched, his eyes glued to the wand as it traced swirling circles hypnotically in time with Hermione's clear Latin dictation. The spell finished with a final circle, the only one to the side of the pouch rather than above. Hermione explained that it needed to be as close to a perfect circle as possible hence the dirt track to keep her in line. The entire spell would have backfired if the circle had not connected.

"This actually turned out better than mine. I had only marked where I would start the circle so it probably wasn't perfectly round. I almost want to try it again, I figured out a more economic wrist movement towards the end of the casting that might make the initial circles more uniform."

Harry looked up from his inspection and careful reorganization at that comment. He gave Ron a pointed look, now would probably be the last time that Hermione would consent to cast this particular spell. His friend quirked an eyebrow and gave a subtle nod of understanding.

"Well Hermione, I could always use the storage. You would be able to test your new method." She beamed at Ron's comment causing his ears to turn pink. Harry mused that they had corrupted her. One good turn deserves another and all that. "Only problem is I don't have a bag."

Ah, couldn't have that. If Hermione broke her stride now, chances were that she would never perform the charm again. Yes, she looked ready to drop the matter.

"Don't we have an empty Gringotts bag," Harry asked. "You could practice the charm on that and Ron could transfigure it however he wants after."

"Of course," Hermione said as she began to dig through her purse. Harry clapped Ron on the back and winked as he moved to the witch's shoulder. He pointed his wand into the bag and used an accio to call out their target. "You shouldn't use magic for every little thing," she scolded. The only response she got was a charming smile so she rolled her eyes and set the spell. They could see that this time did have a more fluid grace.

When the spell was done, Hermione pronounced it near perfect. Harry and Ron saw no difference between their finished products, but agreed nonetheless that the results were spectacular. With their borderline criminal activities done, they put in a final appearance to the Great Hall. Harry said a few words for the fallen and pulled Kingsley aside to tell him about Snape's true loyalties.

He almost decided to stay for the initial clean-up after seeing others begin in earnest during his short eulogy. He only happened to notice McGonagall and Mrs. Weasley heading in his direction. The set of their faces told him that he would soon be tucked away somewhere, forced to rest. He quickly decided and asked Molly if he could go to the Burrow to catch up on some much needed sleep.


L kept to himself while Harry spent time with his friends. He decided not to offer any comments to keep from breeding a greater resentment to his presence. He closed the microphone and began to study Harry's magical coursework while paying only half a mind to the outside conversation. He added a filter to keep from stumbling across anything that the wizard considered private. L already had the important bits so he could settle for access to only the memories that Harry would share with his friends. Not the kind of compromise that the young man himself would have approved of. L felt no twinges of conscience for the exploited loophole. That disgusting, ratty hat probably would have placed him in Slytherin before he ever made it to the stool. Which would be fine with him, the thought of that thing on his head filled him with disgust.

He opted not to copy much information directly over. This was mostly because of the incomplete mess he found Harry had lying about. Sorting children based on character traits seemed to make them restrict themselves to those of their house. L wished that Harry had defied this custom as Hermione did. Before smothering any ambition he may have had, Harry had actually learned as much as he could. He had steadily kept ahead of his class, even as he kept track of what Dudley was likely to know. The detective was mildly impressed by the clever way Harry held his place just below his cousin in classes while keeping his answers separate to divert claims of cheating.

Though much less often, there were a few times that he glimpsed potential after magic too. Harry was the first to connect Hagrid's sudden dragon acquisition to the person attempting to steal the stone in his first year. He had also tricked Ron and Hermione with the Felix Felicis. Mostly though, he allowed others to do his thinking for him.

As he wanted to learn as much as possible about magic, his best bet would be to get Harry re-interested in learning. Maybe compare his Hogwarts study habits to Dudley's? Even now Harry was taking advantage of Hermione's pedantry. Harry, with that bit of help from Ron, had known how to use her want of practical application to override her need to follow rules. Though he did approve of the expanded bag. There would likely be many restrictions to come with a reforming ministry so it was best done now.

He went back to sorting through the magical knowledge, taking note of deficiencies that needed to be rounded out, and storing away the few bits he found immediately useful. He sensed Harry's hesitance to leave as he saw others working while making a short and spur-of-the-moment speech. He almost said something against the idea that he was sure was being thought. It looked like Hermione was already on the same track though. She was speaking into Ron's ear between glances at Harry or into the crowd. Harry took no notice of this or the miserable look Ron sent her before he looked at his friend and gave an acquiescing nod. L kept track of the red-headed wizard while he could. It was a bit difficult as he had no control of the vision range, but he saw Ron approach McGonagall before moving towards his family. After the exchange, the professor kept a careful eye on Harry.

They noticed the Weasley matriarch at the same time, just after Harry finished with Kingsley. Both women were now moving their way with purpose. L allowed himself a smile as he noticed a picture of a bed with straps in the Hospital wing. He had left the monitors running after adding the same 'public only' filter; Harry must be thinking they were going to confine him in the infirmary. Straps were a bit over-dramatic. If they were only a metaphorical thought though it might prove accurate. That was another thing to add to the 'to do' list, a trip to a doctor, or healer as the magicals called them. The wizard would probably deny any need for treatment, but a check-up at least would be prudent.


The trio of friends left the hall after Harry cleared his stay at the Burrow. They apparated together as soon as they passed through what was left of the Hogwarts wards. They all went into Ron's room and the boys relocated the ghoul while Hermione set up a sleeping bag between the beds. After everything that had happened, there was no discussion needed as to the arrangements. To them, it was a given that they would stay in the same room. It was a needed security, especially with the battle that had only just finished.

They settled in to the sounds made by the arrival of the rest of the Weasley family. Ron's whisper was barely audible over the din.

"What are we going to do without him?"

Hermione sucked in a choked gasp. Harry, however, steeled himself and met blue eyes that shone slightly with unshed tears. "You're going to keep moving forward. You'll think about him every time you laugh. You're going to do your best to do that often too. Because that's what he wanted. So when you laugh, he'll be there laughing with you." He received a watery smile. "Or at you," he couldn't help adding.

"Yeah, reckon you're right. He'd probably thump me for snivelling like a girl." Ron dodged a swat for his comment. He offered his hand a moment later and, after receiving a light smack to its back, twined his fingers with Hermione's. Everyone present knew that it would not be so easy what was said, but it was something to remember and work towards. A small comfort.

L wondered if he could help set up the foundations of a mind palace for Harry, but waited to state his idea until the conversation died out. The wait left him with an almost unconscious wizard that was more agreeable for his half-asleep state.

"I'm going to start send your memories through a defragment while you sleep and may have some progress in the help I offered by the time you wake." He said and readied himself to launch into details.

"Don't go pokin' through my memories," a quiet thought scolded.

"This will process itself, I have no need to see the memories. I shall only be monitoring it as a percentage to verify that its pace stays steady."

"Mmmm. Okay. Good night," Harry mumbled aloud. He received torpid acknowledgement from his friends and they all drifted fully into sleep.

L set the program to sort in a way that was chiefly influenced by Harry's own priorities where needed. Mostly it would further condense and organize what he had started. It would also make connections between events more clear. A bit like Dumbledore's pensive without the revolving hologram-type images. When he was sure it was functioning correctly, he moved on to set up a safe room for Harry.

It was set through the door that lead to the wizard's mind. It started as a small, empty room much like L's, but after a moment he decided that Harry would want it to feel more comfortable. The surroundings morphed to a small section of the Gryffindor common room. The plush chairs in their vibrant colors and the cheery fire did make for a nice effect. Next came a shelved corner table that extended for a bit down each wall. It was filled with large pictures of family and friends in almost the same layout of L's monitors.

The detective was unsure of how legilimency actually worked so he put in the many protections he had thought up for his own mind. It was actually a bit exciting for the man as he never had cause to worry about a mental attack so he had never implemented them himself. He had his password protection only out of habit. So the innocuous photos were actually freestanding monitors and the curve of the table housed a hidden keyboard and mouse accessible only with a short combination using the knob of a small drawer.

Harry would have to briefly review his memories to ensure they had sorted correctly and then secure them away where only the monitors had access. That way, if someone were able to reach the room and destroy everything, the source material would stay safe.

The only door in the room led to L's own room and the window had been replaced with an intercom. Other than their unusual situation of sharing head space, there was no need for a door at all. Once he knew where the room was, he would only have to think himself to it. A door would just call for intruders.

He hoped Harry would appreciate the set-up rather than be annoyed that L had done so much with such dubious consent. There was also the fact that Harry would be sleeping until his memories finished compressing. It would probably worry everyone when he slept over twelve hours, but maybe it would be written off as battle fatigue. At least there was no chance of nightmares and the wizard would require no sleep to assimilate new memories after he set up his auto-sort. His body would still require rest sometimes though magic might further lessen the amount.

Well, being early afternoon, only the morning would tell.

L made a few changes to his own room. The wall opposite his own mind observatory changed to a deep blue with silver sconces and an elegant white fireplace. The organization, or possibly unconscious state of their origin, had dulled the sound of thoughts flowing outside. The sound of the fire helped to replace the sound that L had come to find comforting over the past several hours. He listened to it crackling for a minute. It needed something. He added a moving painting of a serene forest clearing with a steady wind sounding that swayed the trees and a burbling spring that would draw quiet animals intermittently. The final touch was a dark, stately couch, where the light hit the fabric just right it shone blue. Its white trim and silver stitches pulled the ensemble together.

Satisfied, he turned to his stark set up and settled in for a long night in front of a screen with a heavy tome to refresh his Latin.


Yay another chapter done. I hope that my writing is getting a little better. I actually decided to try writing a little more casually instead of following rules that I remember, but can't actually remember the context of learning them. Let me know if you notice something that doesn't sound right or if I violate some unforgivable rule of writing. Or you could just let me know you stopped by. I love hearing that you're not regretting following/favorite-ing. Requests/suggestions will be considered and may potentially make the story (my outline was very basic and apparently L and Harry hate it). Thanks for reading.