Chapter 1: Returning the Wands

The trio climbed down the stairs out of Dumbledore's (now likely Professor McGonagall's) office, past the fallen gargoyle who asked that they send someone to repair him. They gradually made their way down towards the Great Hall once again, past all the piles of rubble, broken statues, and holes in the walls and floors. Bloodstains remained where the dead had fallen, the bodies already moved. The damage got worse as they approached the Great Hall and Harry Potter paused on the staircase before the door.

"Ron, Hermione, can you go into the Hall? Get Kingsley and Professor McGonagall and bring them to the courtyard, they should be here for this," Harry said quietly. "I'd go with you, but I'd like to keep this to as few people as we can and I tend to attract attention."

"Sure Harry, we'll be right back," Hermione said, grabbing Ron's hand and leading him into the Great Hall.

Harry pulled the invisibility cloak out of his pocket and swung it on over his head. Just in time, as a group of people exited the Great Hall and headed into the castle. Harry quietly made his way past them and walked past the great doors, which lay on the ground now, and into the courtyard. He sat down on a fallen block of stone, removing the invisibility cloak and stuffing it back into his pocket. His adrenaline was finally starting to wear off, and his body felt heavy and stiff. His chest ached, from where he had been hit by Voldemort's curse. It was a different pain than his scar though. This felt like he had taken an overly large bludger hit by a beater the size of Hagrid. It was not the prickling, shooting pain that his scar produced due to his former connection with Voldemort. His forehead actually felt a bit lighter, like a slight pressure had been removed.

After a minute or two, Ron and Hermione exited the castle, followed closely by Kingsley and McGonagall. Kingsley, now acting Minister of Magic, seemed to have come through the battle relatively than a small cut on the side of his neck and some tearing of his robes, he was intact. Likewise, McGonagall was also mostly untouched.

"Harry! I'm so glad you're alright," McGonagall said sounding relieved.

"You gave us quite a scare," Kingsley said in his low voice. "May I ask why we are here Mr. Potter?"

"Thank you for coming Minister. There is still something I must do and to do it properly, we need help from both of you," Harry replied. "We need to return Professor Dumbledore's wand to his tomb. Voldemort stole it in hope that its power would be enough to defeat me."

"No need for formalities, please call me Kingsley," he replied. "If I may ask why would Voldemort believe this wand would be powerful enough beat you, when his own wand was unable?"

"That is a long and complicated story, and we do not have the time. This needs to be done as quickly as possible. I will tell it, you both deserve to know, as well as a few other select people," Harry explained. "I personally think it would be best to just tell it once, to everyone who absolutely needs to know. Some of the stuff the three of us dealt with last year is very dark magic and should not be public knowledge."

"We also haven't slept since before we broke into Gringotts," remarked Hermione.

"Plus, we haven't had a bloody meal since then either," mumbled Ron.

Hermione rolled her eyes at this and muttered something under her breath for only Ron to hear. He gave a small smile, and grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze before quickly releasing it. Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow at the pair, causing both of their cheeks to turn pink.

"Well then, let us complete this task so that you three can get some much needed, and well deserved, rest," Kingsley said leading the way down the hill.

The lawn was littered with evidence of the battle; with arrows, craters, and even an Acromantula corpse. The group picked their way down the hillside towards the lake shore. They reached the tomb in the early morning light, inspecting it as they approached. Much of it remained intact, the only blemish being the cracked and moved capstone. No one spoke as Harry slowly approached the opening. There, the body of the old headmaster lay, exposed to the elements, but still not showing many signs of decay. Harry reached into the mokeskin pouch and felt for the Elder Wand. His fingers brushed across the shard of Sirius's mirror, touched the open snitch which had housed the Resurrection Stone, felt the old, weathered paper of the Marauder's Map, before finding the handle of a wand.

His hand first found his own wand, the familiar feeling of it bringing him a bit of comfort. Next, he felt Draco Malfoy's wand, which was familiar to him, but was still relatively new. The last wand his hand touched was the one he had been retrieving. The wand that not long ago, had been trying to kill him, even though it could not, the Elder Wand. It felt old, but Harry could still feel the power of it hidden inside. This power was technically his, but he truly did not want or need it.

Harry gently placed the Elder Wand back underneath the hands of Dumbledore before stepping back. As a group, the five of them bowed their heads for a moment, before raising their wands (Harry with his Phoenix wand). The group repaired and replaced the capstone over Dumbledore. Kingsley and McGonagall both then cast protection wards over the tomb before stepping away.

The group made their way up to the castle in silence, each one busy with their own thoughts. Much had happened in the last few days and it was a brand-new world they were now in.

They had just reached the courtyard when suddenly, Hermione stopped and said loudly, "Harry, Professor Snape, his body!"

"That's right Hermione, I can't believe I forgot, Kingsley, Professor Snape's body, it's in the Shrieking Shack. He was killed by Voldemort because Riddle thought that Snape was the Elder Wand's master. Somebody needs to retrieve his body," Harry exclaimed.

Kingsley looked at him with curiosity in his eyes. Professor McGonagall bristled and started to say something but before she could, Harry cut her off.

"Professor Snape was on our side; I wouldn't believe it had I not seen the proof. He gave me his memories as he was dying. Dumbledore was already dying so he and Snape planned his death. The memories are up in the Pensieve right now. They are very personal to Professor Snape so if you do watch them, please do not share any of the contents."

"Of course, Harry, I will go retrieve his body myself with an Auror or two," Kingsley said.

He quickly moved away towards where some people in Auror uniforms were gathered. McGonagall gave the trio a nod before making her way into the castle. The three looked at each other, at the tired, haggard looks on their faces. At the bags under their eyes and the deep sorrow within them for all the people who had been lost in The Battle. As one, they nodded and made their way into Hogwarts Castle. As they made their way past the Great Hall, Harry stopped and thought of the other wand that was, in his mokeskin bag.

"Wait right here," Harry said as he turned and hurried into the hall, hoping that they were still there.

They were, their blond hair making them easy to pick out at the Slytherin table. The hall by this point was mostly empty, just a couple of families in their own pods scattered around the hall. Harry made his way over to them, approaching warily. Narcissa Malfoy was the first of the three to notice Harry. She made eye contact and gave a slight nod which Harry returned, his way of thanking her for not telling Voldemort that he had been alive in the Forbidden Forest. Draco was the next to notice his approach. A look of anger, followed quickly by fear flashed across his face before it resumed its usual disinterested sneer. The last to notice was Lucius, whose eyes were dull and sunken. His time with the Dementors in Azkaban had seemed to age him beyond his years. A slight look of fear came across as Harry came to a stop in front of them.

"What do you want, Potter?" sneered Draco, though he had a spark of fear still within his eyes.

Harry sighed before he said, "I'm willing to let bygones be bygones and forgive you and your mother for what you have done. You each saved my life at one time and you never actually killed anyone and that counts for something." Harry paused, then added, "I believe I have something of yours Draco."

He pulled the wand from his pouch and offered it to Draco. Draco tentatively reached for it before hesitating.

"Why would you return my wand?" he asked.

"I have my original wand back and I really don't need a spare," Harry said simply. "Just don't misuse it because if you do, I will know. I would recommend not going home though, at least not without Auror protection. The remaining Death Eaters will probably not be kind to the three of you."

With that, Harry turned and made his way out of the Great Hall where Ron and Hermione were waiting for him. They gave him quizzical looks, which he ignored, and began to make their way up to Gryffindor Tower, where their beds were waiting for them. Each step was becoming harder and harder as the past two days of bank robbing and battle came crashing down on them. They had almost reached the tower when out of one of the classrooms came a young lady with red hair. She had obviously been crying as evidenced by the tracks the tears had carved through the dirt and soot. There also was a cut on her chin. Her clothes were burned and torn, but to Harry she was still beautiful. She turned towards him and he froze as one thought overtook his mind.

Ginny.

Author's Note: This story is mostly just practice for me writing dialog between characters as I prepare to write my own original work. The next chapter is nearing completion. A special thanks to my girlfriend who read and edited the story.