Ron, Harry and Hermione left Dumbledore's office after Harry had finished talking with Dumbledore's portrait. As they walked along the corridor, Harry waved his newly repaired wand through the air. He pointed it to the wooden frame of a portrait that had been knocked to the ground and cracked. With a quick flick, the wood sealed its cracks.

"That feels better, doesn't it?" Hermione smiled to Harry.

"It feels loads better." He told her, sounding satisfied.

Ron looked down the corridor. The walls and floors looked to be coated in a blanket of dust, but for the first time in hours everything was still. There was complete silence beyond them.

"Well, now what?" Ron asked, turning to see Harry and Hermione.

"Sleep." Said Harry. They laughed and Hermione covered her mouth as she yawed.

"Gryffindor?" she suggested.

Harry nodded and they made their way up to the tower. They came across Seamus on their way to the Common Room, who had just finished collected his belongings from their dormitory and was able to give them the password. When they passed through the portrait hole into the Gryffindor Tower, it felt as though nothing had changed. The Common Room had remained untouched throughout the battle and the large, comfy armchairs beckoned Ron towards them. He slumped down into the closest chair and leaned his head back. He saw Harry take the seat next to him before turning his attention to Hermione. She ran her hand over the tapestries hung in the tower as though she hadn't seen them in years.

"We would have been working on our N.E.W.T.'s right now, you know." She said smiling subtly to herself.

"Ya, it's weird to think of, really." Ron said back to her.

"Remember the first night we got here?" she asked as she surveyed the room. Harry sat quietly but nodded. "Feels like just yesterday." She spoke softly while reminiscing.

Ron heaved himself from the chair. His body moved slowly and his eyes stung every second they stayed open. He followed her gaze and examined the room. It really was just as magical as the first time he saw it. He had just forgotten after all these years, exactly how incredible the castle was. Hermione leaned her head to his shoulder.

"Let's head up to the dormitory?" he said, finally.

Ron lead Harry and Hermione up the steps to the familiar room where he and the four other boys spent their nights as Hogwarts students. Ron opened the door and saw his four-poster preserved perfectly for him; curtains pulled back, blankets pulled neatly into place. He walked straight towards the bed.

Hermione stepped out of her shoes and pulled off her coat. She crawled onto Neville's bed. Her body fell softly onto the mattress and she buried her cheek into the pillow. Harry walked past Ron and sat down on the edge of his bed. He pulled off his shoes and looked up to Ron.

"Well, g'night then." He laughed and crawled beneath his blankets.

"Yeah," Ron laughed as he pulled back the sheets and flopped down onto his own bed. He kicked off his shoes and covered himself in the warm blankets. He instantly felt relaxed. His body felt like it was sinking into his mattress and warmth spread across his body. Ron's eyes glanced slowly over the pattern on his scarlet curtains; illuminated by the warm sunlight as he began to drift in and out of sleep. Harry's breathing had become heavy and Ron knew Harry had already fallen into a slumber. He turned to Neville's bed and saw Hermione looking back at him. Her arms cradled the pillow beneath her head and her cheek rested gently against it. The sun shone across the room and fell over her. He thought that she looked warm in the light. Ron smiled to her and she smiled back through squinted eyes. He wanted to her to come lay next to him but he was too tired to tell her so, and instead his eyelids fell heavily over his eyes and he drifted off watching her lay in the sun.

"Ron," he heard his name being called from a distance. "Ron!" he heard it again.

His eyes opened slowly and he became blinded by the light that filled their dormitory. Ron grabbed his pillow and wrapped it up around his face to cover his eyes. Exhaustion throbbed at Ron's forehead that was accompanied by a short wave of nausea.

"Harry? Hermione?" the voice called.

"I think it's Ginny." Ron heard Hermione say, groggily.

Ron stretched his arm across his eyes to shield it from the sunlight.

"Ginny?" he called back.

All was quiet for a moment before Ginny burst through the door to the dormitory.

"We've been looking everywhere for you." Ginny said sounding winded.

Ron looked up, squinting through the brightness and saw Ginny standing in the doorway.

"We're going to go home, Ron." She said smiling.

Ron gazed over to Hermione, who laid motionless with her hand over eyes. He turned his head to the bed on the other side of him. Harry had not even been awakened by the commotion. Ginny walked over to the window beside Ron's bed and picked up the jug of water kept for students through the night. She filled the cup placed beside it and held it out for her brother. Ron sat up and took the cup from her.

"What time is it?" Ron asked as he raised the glass to his mouth.

"Noon," Ginny told him.

"Harry." Ron said in between gulps, trying to wake him up. "Harry!" Ron said more loudly this time, but Harry remained sleeping peacefully. Ron lifted his pillow and tossed it forcefully at Harry. His eyes shot open and focused on Ron.

"What?" said an irritated Harry.

"Going home, mate." Ron told him, smiling. "Get up!"

Ron laid back down in his bed, trying to muster up enough energy to stand, but proved to be defeated by his exhaustion. Ginny walked with the jug of water over to Harry and filled a glass for him, too. Hermione slid off the edge of the bed and stood up, stretching her arms as high as they would reach. Ron looked to her and held out the cup of water for her to drink.

"Thanks," she said quietly, taking the cup in her hand as Ron sat up to make room for her on his bed. He leaned back against the headboard and watched her sip from the cup. She sat down facing him and he took her hand.

"How long have we been asleep for?" Harry asked as he sat up in his bed. He rubbed his eyes and massaged his temples in attempt to ease the discomfort of his sleep deprivation.

"'Bout four hours." Ron laughed watching him shake his head. Harry took the water from Ginny and gulped it down. "I forgot that I was starving before I fell asleep. I couldn't even stay awake long enough to ask Kreacher for a sandwich."

"Mum's going to make a big lunch for everyone. Then we can all get some sleep." Said Ginny as she rubbed his back.

"That sounds perfect." Said Harry through a yawn.

"Yeah, let's go home." Ron said, giving Hermione's hand a squeeze.

"Yes, home would be nice." She said softly, looking to their hands.

The Great Hall was still buzzing with people. The sun that was now perched high in the sky, radiated through the windows and lit up the broken hall like fire. The tables had been filled with much more food now that there had been more time to prepare it. Harry walked forward and reached for a large muffin, which he immediately bit into.

"There's dad," Ginny nodded to the front of the hall.

"He's still talking to Kingsley," Ron pointed out. "I reckon we've got a few more minutes if we want to get some of this feast." He looked to Harry and motioned towards the food that was spread across the table beside them.

"No, we're leaving." Said Mrs. Weasley as she and Professor McGonagall walked up from behind them. McGonagall smiled proudly at them as they stood before her.

"Well done you three."

"Thank you, Professor." Hermione beamed.

"Yes, thank you." Harry and Ron added.

"While you were away, we announced that a service will be held here at Hogwarts later this week, for those who were lost in the battle." McGonagall said as she placed a hand to Molly's shoulder. Molly grasped McGonagall's hand in her own.

"In the mean time," she added, "those who wish to help repair the damages to the school should return on Monday. There is a lot of work to be done, but with the efforts of our students, their families and our faculty, the castle will be as good as new before long."

"We'll be here, Professor." Hermione assured her.

"Definitely." Said Harry, and Ron nodded in agreement.

"You can count me in, too." Sounded Neville's voice.

"Glad to hear it, Mr. Longbottom." She smiled. "See you tomorrow." Professor McGonagall added to Molly before leaving.

"Yes, see you then, Minerva." Molly waved.

"Well, just wanted to come say goodbye." Neville looked between the friends.

"Gran and I are off to visit my parents." He said quietly to Harry.

Harry turned to Neville, his hand outstretched.

"You killed the snake, Neville." Harry told him. "You were brilliant."

"We were all brilliant." He told Harry, as he shook his hand and smiled to his friends.

"Neville dear, you must join us tomorrow for brunch. And your gran." Molly told him as she pulled him into a hug. "At our house tomorrow afternoon."

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley. I'll tell my gran. See you all tomorrow, then." He nodded and they exchanged goodbyes before he turned and walked back to his gran.

"Well you lot," said Arthur, making his way towards them. He placed his hands on Harry and Ron's shoulders. "What do you say we get home?"

"I'd say it's about time." Ron said looking to his dad.

"I'd say that's about right." Harry nodded, looking to Ron.