A/N: I'm not very good at this whole updating frequently thing, am I? Ah well. School is over. The conflict that was causing my lack of writing has mostly been resolved. Now there's a new one, but I'm trying not to obsess over it. Time goes by, life goes on. I just have to get used to it.
The next morning after he and Hermione had breakfast Harry found himself climbing the steps to the Headmistress's office.
"Good morning, Professor," he said after knocking on the door and being told to enter.
"What can I do for you Harry?"
"I just wanted to talk."
"Alright."
"Professor, are you okay? This whole thing, Dumbledore, then what ever is going on with you and Hermione."
"I'm fine."
"You're lying, Professor. It's okay, you can talk to me. I won't tell anyone," Harry said.
McGonagall sighed.
"Yes, it's hard. Albus was my best friend for a very long time. We worked together, we fought two wars together, and we shared everything with each other. And now he's gone and I'm left to pick up the pieces and put the school back together for some sense of normalcy in this next war."
"The first time you have truly been away from him?"
"The first time since I started school. This will be the first war I fight without knowing that no matter what happens he has my back and he'll be here to pick up the pieces at the end of the day."
"It must be a hard thing to accept."
"The sort that you never really do. It's hard. Miss Granger- Hermione, was right. She said some things about me wanting someone else to be in charge, and wanting someone to always be there at the end of the day."
"You hoped it would be her."
"I did. It was a childish desire. Miss Granger is young. She has a life to live. This war is our fight, not yours."
"Sorry, but I'm pretty sure it's our fight. I've only been nearly killed 6 times to date because of this."
"So it is your fight, but it shouldn't be. The conflict is between the adults. Children have no place."
"We're not children anymore. War destroyed that."
"Some of you never were. You, Harry, you've been involved in this since your birth. And Miss Granger, ever since you saved her from the troll in your first year. Mr. Weasley since the three of you saved the Sorcerer's Stone. You never got to be children."
"No, we didn't. But at least we've gotten to live this long."
"That sounds like something Albus would say. Always looking on the bright side." Harry laughed, and McGonagall smiled.
"There's no way I could replace him in any way… friends?" Harry said.
"Friends." McGonagall replied. Harry smiled, and stood to leave.
"We'll try to keep in touch when it's safe," he said.
"I'll hold you to it. Good luck, Harry."
"Will we see you at Bill and Fleur's wedding?" he asked, his hand on the doorknob.
"Hopefully."
"Until then, Professor," Harry replied while opening the door to the office.
"Minerva, Harry, call me Minerva."
"Bye, Minerva," Harry said, and he left the office. McGonagall sat at her desk for a long time after that thinking about Harry's strange visit.
Harry rushed back to the Room of Requirement and found Hermione finishing repacking her bag once again.
"Ready to go?" he asked.
"Just about," she replied, shoving the last few things into her beaded bag.
"All set," she said, and they stepped out of the Room. Harry paced back and forth before the entrance thinking about how they needed a safe way to travel to the Burrow. The door appeared and they entered.
The Room had provided at Floo connection that hadn't previously existed. They each grabbed a handful of Floo powder and stepped into the fireplace together. As they tossed the powder down and called out their destination, Hermione couldn't help but think that this was the end of their time as students and the beginning of their intimate involvement with the war.
A/N: It's short, but it's an update. In my defense, I went to sleep at 2:30 this morning after having an hour & a half long conversation with a close friend on Facebook… I'll try to update again sometime this coming week before I leave.
A/N 3: You guys should check out some of my other stories! I've branched out to Psych and The Lying Game, but there is still plenty of Harry Potter awesomeness, including several new fics!
