Hello hello!

Now we're into the 'healing' section of the fic as I like to call it, there will be several short (ish) chapters dealing with the aftermath of the war, and I'm going to try and cover everyone I can. If there are any requests for anything you would like to see, now would be the time :D

I am so grateful for all the support I've received since I began writing this fic just over a year ago. I never expected it to be this long or grow into what it has, but seriously for all of you that have reviewed, followed and favourited it, thank you!

The first little bit is the last canon compliant part of the story, and as per usual, it is in italics :)

Please leave a review and let me know what you think ;)

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Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, and only the story line and any OC's belong to me.

For Kitty Cat xxx I love you dearest!

One shivering second of silence, the shock of the moment suspended: and then the tumult broke around Harry as the screams and the cheers and the roars of the watchers rent the air. The fierce new sun dazzled the windows as they thundered toward him, and the first to reach him were Ron and Hermione, and it was their arms that were wrapped around him, their incomprehensible shouts that deafened him. Then Ginny, Neville, and Luna were there, and then all the Weasleys and Hagrid, and Kingsley and McGonagall and Flitwick and Sprout, and Sirius and Remus and just everyone, and Harry could not hear a word that anyone was shouting, nor tell whose hands were seizing him, pulling him, trying to hug some part of him, hundreds of them pressing in, all of them determined to touch the Boy Who Lived, the reason it was over at last—

The sun rose steadily over Hogwarts, and the Great Hall blazed with life and light. Harry was an indispensable part of the mingled outpourings of jubilation and mourning, of grief and celebration.

They wanted him there with them, their leader and symbol, their savior and their guide, and that he had not slept, that he craved the company of only a few of them, seemed to occur to on one. He must speak to the bereaved, clap their hands, witness their tears, receive their thanks, hear the new now creeping in from every quarter as the morning drew on; that the Imperiused up and down the country had come back to themselves, that Death Eaters were fleeing or else being captured, that the innocent of Azkaban were being released at that very moment, and that Kingsley Shacklebolt had been named temporary Minister of Magic...
They moved Voldemort's body and laid it in a chamber off the Hall, away from the bodies of Tonks, Lavender, Colin Creevey, and fifty others who had died fighting him. McGonagall had replaced the House tables, but nobody was sitting according to House anymore: All were jumbled together, teachers and pupils, ghosts and parents, centaurs and house-elves, and Firenze lay recovering in a corner, and Grawp peered in through a smashed window, and people were through food into his laughing mouth.

After the initial euphoria of their victory, of their triumph over Voldemort and his followers, slowly ebbed away, their joyous cries died down, and everyone was left in the silent aftermath of the last several hours. The last several months really. If they're all honest with themselves, they're all recovering from the last few years; ever since the rumours kicked back up that Voldemort may be back, they had been living in fear, torment, grief, uncertainty. The list went on and on. Almost every wix's life had been affected in one way or another.

Most of the wix were now sitting quietly amongst themselves, leaning on the living, folded over and mourning the dead. Heart wrenching sobs were echoing through the vast Hall, and the only footsteps to be heard really, were Madam Pomfrey's as she hurried back and forth, tending to the wounded.

Harry was a bit overwhelmed with all the love and warmth that was being sent his way. They had done it. They had won.

Exhausted and drained, he had found himself beside his witch a few moments ago, and he let his head fall sideways onto her shoulder.

"I'll distract them if you need to get away," Luna murmured in his ear. Harry smirked at the offer, Luna knew him so well. He squeezed her hip and pulled her to him gently before he gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"Would you, love? Please," Harry whispered against her lips.

"Of course," Luna giggled.

Harry pulled away from his witch, and she yelled, "Oooh, look, a Blibbering Humdinger!"
and pointed out of the window. Everyone who heard looked around, and Harry hastily threw his Invisibility Cloak over himself whilst all the people nearby were distracted.

Veiled with invisibility, he ducked between wix, weaving his way through the survivors until he found Ron and Hermione, sitting close to the entrance to the Great Hall. Ron's arm was around Hermione and her head was resting wearily on his shoulder. Harry thought about the best way to approach his best mates, that whilst exhausted, were now hardwired now to be on their guard, and alert at even the slightest sudden movement.

Deciding that no matter what he did, they would jump to attention, Harry softly said, "Hermione, Ron, it's me, Harry, follow me outside."

As he had suspected, they both stiffened, and their hands were on their wands before he had finished speaking. They both visibly relaxed after a moment, and Hermione pursed her lips, clearly unimpressed. Harry heard footfalls behind him, so he didn't stop to check if they were following or not.

From across the Great Hall, Draco paused in his search of his parents and Hermione as he spotted her mess of curls and Ron's shock of ginger hair leaving the Great Hall. He flinched harshly when he felt a hard clap fall on his left shoulder.

"Fu-" Draco began, angling his head in the direction of his assailant.

Draco was greeted by a very, very smug Blaise Zabini.

"...don't make me regret being...upset...when I thought you were dead," Draco drawled after a few moments of silence between the two.

"You were upset? Oh Drakey Poo," Blaise batted his eyelashes rapidly, his grin growing, his sparkling white teeth on full display. Draco spotted the gash across Blaise's forehead, and reminded himself that yes, Blaise had almost just died. If he hadn't, Draco wouldn't have hesitated to hex the git.

"Shut up. I'm going to go find my parents," Draco scowled, shoving Blaise away from him.

Much to his horror-though not surprise-Blaise trailed after him. Draco made sure to hide the slight smirk that touched his lips as his best mate began to prattle on.

"It's over," Ginny sighed, her back falling against Theo's chest, her knees partially bent. His strong arms encircled her, and she reached up to grasp his forearms.

"It is," Theo murmured softly into her ear, tickling it with his hot breath.

Ginny closed her eyes and simply revelled in the moment, of being alive, her chest rising and falling, her dull aches and pains. Everything that reconfirmed that she was alive, a little battered, but alive nonetheless.

She could hear the soft sound of other people's conversations blending together, but then an obnoxious outburst cut through them all, "blonde, curly haired Malfoys here you come!" Blaise, Ginny smiled faintly. She was too tired or she would have gotten up and gone to see how Hermione and the others were doing. Molly had already made her rounds, checking up on her various children before hurrying back to her husband to tend to his nasty leg wound. Ginny saw her falter on her way there, pausing by Gwen and Charlie.

"What do we do now?" Theo asked softly, and a lazy grin grew on Ginny's face, her eyes fluttering open. She twisted in his arms, one of her hands moving to grasp his cheek.

"Well first...I want a shower. Second, I want to spend a week sleeping. Third, I want to spend some time with my family...and after that, well I'm all yours Theodore Nott." Ginny murmured so that only he could hear her. She tilted her face upwards the slightest bit and he leaned forward the rest of the way and gently pressed his lips to hers. When she pulled away, thumb tenderly stroking his cheek, she saw the happy look in his eyes, and it was in that moment that she knew it was all going to be okay.

Gwen was staring blankly at the ground, her short hair falling in her eyes. The tips of her fingers were white from how tightly she was clinging onto Charlie's forearm-which was protectively wrapped around her, clutching her to him. At some point the blood was washed off of her hands, but the dried blood that was caking her face, chest, clothes and hair remained. Charlie was making soft noises in her ear as he stroked her hair, his fingers untangling any matts and knots.

Molly noticed the ring glinting on Gwen's finger on her way back to her husband, and almost fell over herself (and them) in silent joy, her hands immediately flew to her mouth, and there were smile lines crinkling by her eyes. Thankfully she refrained from squealing or making a big deal about the whole thing. Instead she bent down and gently patted Gwen's arm before turning on her heel and heading to her husband's side. Gwen somehow found it in her to smile weakly.

Daphne ran barefoot across the Great Hall, to where Blaise and Draco were silently conversing. Draco took a small step back as the honey blonde happily flung herself into Blaise's arms. Blaise grunted in pain, and Daphne immediately pulled back, worry flooding her features. Blaise gritted his teeth and swallowed his pain, spinning his witch in a small circle before squeezing her tighter.

Daphne nuzzled her face in the side of his neck, breathing in his scent. Blaise grinned before whispering lowly, "I'm going to fuck you every night from now until we die, Princess."

Daphne snorted, leaning back to look at him; upon seeing his lazy grin she rolled her eyes, but she still angled her face and then leaned down, kissing him deeply when their lips met.

"Okay...that's my cue to leave," Draco rolled his eyes, groaning slightly. He had seen enough public displays of affection from Blaise and Theo for now. It was time he went to find his parents. He didn't know why that wasn't the first thing he set out to do after Hermione had left the Great Hall.

Draco spotted Pansy kneeling beside Padma, rubbing small circles across her back. Padma's body was shaking with violent sobs, her face contorted in agony as she rocked back and forth. Clutching desperately at her motionless twin, whose eyes were staring, unseeing, at the ceiling.

Draco clenched his jaw, shooting Pansy a grief filled look, and when he angled his face forwards again he saw them. His parents.

Anyone in the near vicinity that was paying attention would have seen the Malfoys collide into a massive hug. Unabashedly showing their affection and love for each other. Something most people wouldn't have seen ever before. Draco is squashed in the middle, one arm around both of his parents' waists. Lucius was gently cradling Draco's head to his chest, whereas Narcissa was attempting to wrap her arms around both of her boys.

Minutes later, Draco was sat between them, and they were merely revelling in each other's presence.

Augusta Longbottom was sitting on their left, still clutching a vibrant, red handbag. Her hair out of sorts, the thin, tall, elegant lady's chin is raised and her eyes are proudly watching her grandson as he limped around, checking on everyone he could. Hannah was trailing behind him, trying to get him to sit down so she could look at his wounded leg, not to mention the rest of his injuries.

On their right, Sirius was leaning back, watching Remus who was hunched over Tonks's body-Andromeda had arrived, and Sirius thought it best he leave them alone to grieve. Teddy was holding onto the front of his grandmother tightly as she cradled him in her arms, one hand on the back of his head, making sure he didn't see his Mother.

Sirius took a deep drag of his fag before breathing out softly, the light smoke gently curling and billowing from between his slightly parted lips.

"Must you smoke inside," Narcissa narrowed her eyes at Sirius, scoffing when he grinned and blew the rest in her direction.

"Gosh, cousin, you just survived a Dark Lord, you'd think you'd be a little less uptight," Sirius smirked devilishly.

"You'd think you would have a bit more class, but you are simply a mutt after all," Narcissa smiled sweetly.

Narcissa and Sirius stared at each other for a long, pregnant moment, before they both burst out into laughter. Lucius and Draco, confuddled beyond belief stared at the pair of them, jaws agape.

"Ahhh, you were always my favourite cousin Cissa...with the exception of Dromeda. She was the best," Sirius winked. Narcissa's lips twisted wryly to the side, but her eyes were dancing with amusement.

"I've missed you, Sirius," Narcissa laughed breathily, it came out in short peals, and Lucius merely shook his head before taking his wife's hand in his.

Luna, Neville and Hannah had all meandered their way over to Ginny, and soon everyone she cared about was close by. Well, most of them. Harry, Hermione and Ron were all still outside (talking about Deathly Hallows and horcruxes), Draco was still across the hall with his parents, and her own parents and siblings were a little ways away.

Somehow, she knew. She knew that they would all be okay, maybe not at first, but one day. It was all apart of their journey through life, there would be obstacles, and sorrow, and grief, but there would also be happiness and light. They had had enough darkness to last them a lifetime, and now they needed to learn how to live again. To live as opposed to merely surviving as they had been for the better part of the last year, and for others much, much longer.