Being friends with Ron, everything was either out or all in. There was no middle ground, no compromise. Everything to him was either black or white. Gray wasn't a part of his vocabulary.
The saddest part was that this led to him abandoning his friends a lot through the years. There had been many times when the attitude led to him leaving behind his friends during the most dangerous of times and even his love interest in Hermione.
This was nothing new to Harry. His best friend had always been volatile, quick to anger and the first to throw punches.
So, when the war was over, the dead buried and the funerals had, Harry admitted to no longer wanting to be an Auror. He was tired of fighting and chasing bad guys.
Ron reacted exactly as expected. He felt personally victimized by the announcement, "We've planned this for years Harry!"
Harry didn't know how to respond, other than to say how he truthfully felt.
"We've been invited back for an eighth year at Hogwarts to graduate, I want to do that before I make any big decisions." Harry confessed and Ron's face turned an angry shade of red.
"The offer to join the Aurors won't be here in a year. They're offering to train us, right here, right now. If we go back to school, in a year we'll have to take the entrance exams to the Auror division like everyone else." Ron spilled out.
Harry sighed as he rubbed his temples, "If I decide to be an Auror after I graduate, then I'll just take the entrance exams then."
Where Ron was a rip tide, Harry was an immovable boulder. They were both stubborn. A common trait among most Gryffindors. The only difference was that Ron was the youngest boy of six, so he was used to having to fight hard to get his own way.
For Harry, getting his way was never an option, even as an only child. He was raised in a house where he had to beg for food and was neglected. Then, upon arriving at Hogwarts, the first friend he made was Ron who was desperate to have his way. Harry was then told that he was to be a sacrifice to save all of Wizarding Britain.
In Harry's opinion, he'd spent his entire seventeen, soon to be eighteen years, laying down his life for everyone he'd ever met. He felt that it was his turn to choose his own path. Whether Ron wanted to get on board or not.
"Well, I'm not going back. I'm joining the Auror's. We were supposed to be partners." Ron ground out as he stood up, just waiting for the word so that he could storm out of the room.
"That's fine Ron, if you want to do it you should. I'm going back for my final year." Harry said with finality and Ron cursed as he left.
Harry groaned as he leaned his aching head back against the velvet of the armchair he sat in. He was at the Burrow for the duration of the summer, Molly and Arthur so kind as to give him a place to stay. Now that he'd spoken his piece, it was going to be difficult to just exist with a pissed off Ron on the premises.
He had been dreading having the conversation for most of the summer. On the morning after he ended the war, he knew immediately that he didn't want what he had thought he wanted. Harry was ready for a year at Hogwarts without any threats. Hogwarts was his home, his solace. The place where he had been truly cared for and taken care of by the magics of the castle itself for the first time.
When no one else was there, Hogwarts was.
"Harry?" Hermione asked and Harry jumped. He didn't hear her come into the living room.
"Hey 'Mione," He said softly, looking at her and it was as if she could read his mind.
"You finally told him," She stated more than questioned.
Harry sighed again, "I just couldn't hold it off any longer. We go back to Hogwarts in a month and we have to get our supplies for the fall semester."
Hermione nodded thoughtfully as she sat on the comfy couch, "I know. He was already upset that I was going back and that we couldn't see each other for the year. It was inevitable."
"Well, he definitely had some choice words." Harry smiled forcefully, "Have the two of you decided whether you want to try long distance?"
Hurt flashed across Hermione's face, "He said that we could take the year to ourselves if I wanted to go back to Hogwarts. I just told him that if he felt that way, we wouldn't be getting back together in a year."
"I'm sorry Hermione," Harry said sadly, "I didn't know."
"Maybe it was always supposed to be this way," She raked her fingers through her hair, "He left us so many times Harry, and here he is leaving us again. I don't want to wait around just for him to get cold feet at the wedding and not show."
Harry stood and walked over to sit beside her, throwing an arm around her shoulders so that she could lean in for a hug. "I'm excited to be back home at the school. It feels like I'm finally going home."
"You are finally going home!" She said with a laugh and Harry was glad to hear the happiness in her voice. "I wonder how much the renovations have changed."
"As long as the Great Hall is the same, I'll be happy." Harry said as they settled in. Hermione hummed in agreement as she accio'ed her notebook and a muggle pencil out of her bag.
"Let's look over the list of what we need for this year. We can plan on going to Diagon Alley on Tuesday so that it won't be very crowded." She said as she flipped to her list of essentials.
Harry glanced it over, "Add a stop at Ollivander's, I'll have to get a new wand."
"That's right, you've been doing wandless magic this summer." She noted.
"I've mostly not used magic and have done things the muggle way is all," Harry chuckled.
They spent the following hours until dinner going over what they needed, what they wanted, and when Molly called out for everyone to gather at the dinner table, they stood to join her.
"Oh, we can stop in and check on George and Fred while we're there too," He said as they walked into the kitchen.
Molly smiled at them at the mention of her twins, "I'm sure they'll be happy to see you both. Ronald, aren't you going shopping with them too?"
Ron looked up from where he had been ignoring everyone at the table, "I'm not going back to Hogwarts, I'm taking up the Aurors on their offer to join their training."
Harry watched as Molly's smile strained. Almost losing Fred during the battle really did a number on her. He didn't want to think about what would have happened if George didn't tackle Fred out of the way in time.
Even with the sudden dip in the mood, as Ginny joined them everyone sat down and quietly had the same old conversations they'd been having all summer over their meal.
As Harry walked Diagon Alley with Hermione and Ginny, it was surprisingly crowded. Harry thought that it looked just like when he was eleven and brand new to the wizarding world.
"I need to step in here to get some things for Crookshanks," Hermione pointed out La Menagerie Magique, the place where Hagrid had gotten Hedwig.
Harry nodded when Ginny was equally interested in the store and the three walked in together. Hermione went off to the cat supplies and Ginny was distracted by the birds. To keep himself busy Harry wandered around the store. He wondered if he should look into getting a new owl and his heart ached. He didn't think any other owl could be as good as Hedwig had been.
Instead Harry turned away from the owls and went towards the back wall of tanks. At first he thought they contained fish, but they actually contained reptiles. There were toads similar to Neville's and snakes. A lot of different snakes.
Some were labeled as venomous and some were not. There were boas, pythons, a king snake, a black asp, and even a sand winder. Harry wondered how the last three could possibly be kept as pets.
The snakes mostly ignored him and that was when he heard one of the little snakes hissing. Even more, he could recognize what it was saying.
"What brings the human here?" A rosy pink boa asked.
Harry looked around to make sure no one was nearby before he turned back to the boa curiously.
"A friend is getting something for their cat," Harry hissed back lowly.
"Nothing for you?" It curled up towards the glass, it's little forked tongue tasting the air.
"I hadn't planned on getting anything," He responded, watching as the little boa's head swayed back and forth.
"Not many come through that can speak to me," The boa said in a way that gave Harry the impression that it was annoyed.
Harry leaned back and really took a good look at the boa. It was on the smaller side, probably only a couple years old. The fact that it claimed that other parseltongue's had been in the shop was curious. He wondered if he should take it with him. After all, each student was allowed a pet.
"Would you like to come with me?" Harry asked and the boa did a little shimmy.
"I haven't seen the outside world," The boa said, "I would very much like to."
"I'll be going to a school in a short while, so you'll be kept mostly in my rooms or carried around with me," Harry explained, not wanting to give the little boa the impression that it would be going on some big adventure.
"Anything other than these four glass walls will be delightful," It said with a flick of it's tongue. It crept up the glass until Harry reached into the tank and lifted it out.
"Are you a boy or a girl?" He asked as the boa scented him.
"A girl, young one," She said as she slithered up his arm and came to rest around his neck.
"Do you have a name? Or would you like me to name you?" Harry felt her settle her head along his collarbone.
"You should give me one," She agreed.
"How about Stella?" He asked.
"A beautiful name for myself," She nudged his shoulder.
"Harry!" Ginny exclaimed from behind Harry and Stella gave a half-hearted hiss.
"So, that is the master's name?" Stella commented.
Harry turned to face Ginny and her expression was shocked, "What were you doing? You were hissing!"
"You know I'm a parseltongue, Ginny," He said as a way of explanation.
"Yea, but I thought that it would have gone away after you defeated Voldemort. I thought that's why you could speak parseltongue." She wondered as she stepped closer to look at Stella, "She is quite a pretty thing. What's her name?"
Stella flicked her tongue and Harry could somehow feel the snake's joy at being called pretty.
"Stella, I'm going to buy her and bring her along with us as a pet, since you know," He trailed off and Ginny nodded.
"Why don't we go over and get what she needs? Hermione's almost finished." Harry nodded and walked over to the shopkeeper. They were knowledgeable about everything that Harry would need to properly care for Stella.
He paid for all of the items quickly and shrunk everything to fit into the bag he carried. Only Stella remained around his neck.
Together with Ginny they were able to find Hermione who had already paid and was looking for them. They all walked out together to find somewhere for lunch.
"That looks like I have about everything that we need," Hermione said as they sipped at their tea and ate some scones until their lunch came out, "Except for your wand Harry."
Harry nodded, "That's something I should go inside alone for. Kinda personal you know?"
"Of course," Ginny said, "Why don't you go there and then you can meet us at Fred and George's place?"
With a plan, they all discussed how excited they were to return to Hogwarts as they ate. Afterwards, Harry walked down the alley further and further until he found Ollivander's.
It was newly renovated and when Harry stepped inside, there was a call from somewhere behind the shelves, "Just one moment!"
Harry waited patiently until Ollivander himself stepped up behind the counter. "Harry Potter!" The man shouted with a smile and came around the counter to give Harry a hug, "It's mighty good to see you Mr. Potter, are you doing well? How can I help you today?"
"I've been doing just fine sir," Harry smiled and flushed a bit at the attention. Normally he wouldn't care for attention, but when it came from someone he respected, he couldn't help but revel in it. "I'm actually here for a new wand. I've lost my old one."
"Then come on in and get comfortable while I start pulling some of my newest line," Ollivander led him over to one of the seats in the reception area and disappeared into the shelves.
He came back minutes later with a few boxes in hand.
"Now that Voldemort is vanquished and is no longer a piece of you," Ollivander explained, "Your magical signature will be very different and will be receptive to any number of other wands. Don't get your heart set on finding a similar wand to your first."
Harry nodded as he was handed a wand that looked very similar to his first wand. Holly with an unknown core. He gave it a wave and a bright electric spark jumped from the tip and whizzed around the room, narrowly missing Ollivander.
"Alright, maybe not Phoenix feathers. How about this one?" The wand maker asked.
With a flick and swish, the lamp in the corner of the room burst into pieces. Harry winced and handed the wand back.
"And not Yew wood." Ollivander dug through the wands and pulled out a beautiful one. It was a pale white with a soft finish, with an elegant design etched into the handle. "Try this," He said thoughtfully.
Harry held the wand carefully, it looked so delicate but it felt sturdy in his grip. He gave it a wave and the warm glow of light that he remembered as a first year shone down on him. His very magic seemed to hum in contentment at the feel of the wand and Ollivander smiled at him.
"I think you've found your wand Harry. 9'¾" Inches, Ash Wood, Thestral Tail Hair Core," Ollivander said as he began to put the other wands away.
Harry smiled at the feeling and put the wand in the holster that he'd brought that day for this very purpose. "Thank you sir, what do I owe you?" He asked.
"Not a even a knut, Mr. Potter," Ollivander declined, "That wand is my gift to you, as a thank you. Should you ever need more of my services, you know where I am."
Harry couldn't think of a proper enough way to say thank you, so he just said it, "Thank you."
Ollivander gave Harry a fond look and a smile and then waved Harry on his way.
Harry walked all the way back down Diagon Alley until he found Weazley's Wizard Wheezes, which was very busy. A lot of kids his own age or younger were in the store and didn't have the same tact as the adults outside. They stared as he walked by, none quite brave enough to stop him for questions or an autograph.
As he reached the staircase on the left side of the store, he ducked under the chain that roped it off limits to normal patrons. Once on the second floor he knocked on the door labeled Office and a familiar voice invited him in. George was sitting behind one of the two desks with Fred standing over his shoulder.
Ginny had her hair turned blue and had a surly look on her face that Hermione was trying and failing not to laugh at. "You think you'd learn Gin," He said as the twins greeted him.
"Would you like a Blueberry Muffin, Harry?" Fred asked with a grin and Harry shook his head with a grin of his own.
"No chance in hell Forge," Harry laughed as Ginny's look soured even more.
"So, we've heard that you've decided not to be an Auror?" George looked at him with a knowing look.
"Yea, I've just had enough." Harry gave the smallest of explanations, but the twins nodded and nothing else was said about it.
They spoke about anything and nothing while they just hung out for a while. Harry let the twins show him product after product and there were a few interesting ones. Those he shrunk and put into his bag. It was nice to be out and spending time with people that he felt comfortable being himself around.
He didn't need to hide how apathetic he felt sometimes or how sad he could get. These were his friends and they all had their own moments of depression, so they understood.
Finally when it got around time to go home, Ginny was able to convince the twins to come to dinner much to Molly's excitement when they arrived at the Burrow.
It was a long evening of eating good food and playing fun games. Harry could spend every night like this and he hoped when he got to Hogwarts, that he would.
Thank you for reading, more coming soon!