* ~ The Eighth Year Universe Series ~ *

PART THREE

The Eighth Year

Chapter 56: The Secrets of Hogwarts

"We need to talk, you know?"

Draco closed his eyes and sighed. He had been expecting it. Frankly, he was surprised that it had taken Hermione this long to bring it up.

"About the war," Draco said.

"Yes," Hermione rolled onto her side to look at him, and Draco didn't even bother casting a silencing charm around his bed. What did it matter if Harry heard? Hermione would probably tell him everything anyway.

He rolled onto his side and looked her in the eye.

"Sadie told me some things last week, and I think I owe it to you to hear your side of the story," Hermione said. She reached down and took his hand, "Whose side were you on?"

"I honestly didn't know most of the time," Draco said quietly, "I went back to school as a Death Eater. I got on the train, and Pansy kissed me. Daphne saw and stalked off in the huff, then Theo came in and started joking around about the whole thing. At that moment, I let myself believe for one tiny moment that it would be a normal year with normal school drama."

Hermione smiled slightly, "I can understand why you would want that, given what did happen."

"What happened was a war," Draco sighed, "You were out there fighting in the big battle, but we had our own guerilla war to deal with within the school. We all started off the year going to classes and acting as normal, but it became clear that it was no ordinary school year. We were tortured in class. Those who stood up against Alecto's hatred of Muggles felt her wrath, and Amycus enjoyed making students torture each other."

Hermione shook her head in disbelief, "It's disgusting that Snape allowed that to happen."

Draco sighed, "I barely saw him all year. I doubt he had any real control. I think he was just a figurehead."

"Maybe," Hermione said, but she looked less than convinced.

"We couldn't talk freely," Draco continued, "There were listening charms everywhere, but Pansy found this abandoned bathroom. You had to go through a flooded corridor to get to it, so nobody used it. Sadie invented this clever little temporal charm which messed with the listening charms, and I made the bathroom unplottable. That became our Room of Requirement."

Hermione nodded. Her hand was still in his, so she felt it begin to shake, along with his voice.

"We had our first run-in with Neville when Pansy was captured. We were saving her, and they were saving their people. We agreed to live and let live, and got our people out," Draco said with a frown, "We worked together when we needed to, but I was never sure if I was on their side or my own side. I was never on Voldemort's side, though."

Hermione whispered, "That's the part that matters."

"No, not in this story it's not," Draco sighed, "One of the things that Sadie told you about was how I was captured at Christmas. The Carrows didn't put me in the Dark Tower. Instead, they sent me home, which was far worse."

"What happened to you?" Hermione asked quietly.

"I was tortured, obviously," Draco said calmly, "But it was what almost happened that shook me up more. There was a reason I tried to help you when they talked about setting Greyback on you, and it wasn't entirely selfless."

Hermione's eyes widened, "Draco-"

"What almost happened to you almost happened to me as well," Draco finished quickly, "My mother saved me from my fate, and there was no way I could let him do that to you. I wanted to save you from such a dark fate because you were so pure."

Hermione scoffed.

"I don't care what you think of yourself," Draco said, his eyes meeting hers, "I still think of you that way."

The raw emotion in his eyes left Hermione speechless. She kissed him lightly on the lips and murmured, "What happened the second time? They said you went back to Malfoy Manor at your own will."

"I did," Draco frowned, "My mother helped me escape the first time, and I got back to Hogwarts, only to find out that they all thought I was dead. The next few months were difficult; things got harder as the Carrows got cleverer. Pansy got ill, and she needed to be within reach of the hospital wing, not stuck in a cold little bathroom with an unqualified seventh year as a healer. Tracey was brilliant; she was so good, but it just wasn't enough, and I…acted stupidly."

"Because you were worried about her," Hermione realised.

Draco nodded, "I went back. I swore myself to him again. He made me torture Lovegood to prove myself, then you, Harry and Ron, showed up. After you escaped, I came back here, and the others threw Pansy out. But by swearing myself to Voldemort, I had won her protection. There is a little bit of bitterness surrounding the end of the war because they were starving in that bathroom while I acted as the perfect Death Eater under the constant watch of the Carrows. We were comfortable in the Slytherin common room, but the price I paid was that I had to do everything they said to avoid detection, but that destroyed me. It was soul-destroying, and with every bad deed, I felt a little more humanity slip away. I figured that given enough time, I'd start enjoying the pain I was forced to inflict just like they did."

Hermione wrapped her arms around her boyfriend as he told his story.

"Then the battle came, and when push came to shove, I fought against the Death Eaters. When they asked me to come back, when we thought that Harry was dead, I did, but I did that for my mother, not for anyone else," Draco admitted.

"I knew that," Hermione said softly, "And you threw Harry his wand. You have no idea how important that was."

Draco nodded, but he was still frowning. He met her eye once more, "You healed me after that, you know? It's like every day I spend with you, the more human that I feel. You weigh out the bad in me; you keep me good, you keep me sane."

Hermione kissed him softly, "I love you too," she murmured, "Unconditionally."

April marched on, and when Saturday rolled around, Harry found himself being cornered by Daphne.

"Where are you and Neville going today?" Daphne asked with narrowed eyes.

"Shopping," Harry said simply as he pulled on his cloak.

"What kind of shopping?" Daphne asked curiously.

Harry rolled his eyes, "You wonder why I never surprise you, woman," he joked.

"You're ring shopping, aren't you?" Daphne asked with a slightly smug smile.

"No, Neville is shopping for Lilly's birthday," Harry corrected as he pulled on his shoes, "I'm assisting, don't get too excited."

"I wasn't getting excited," Daphne said with an amused smile, "But I think it's sweet that you're helping Neville."

"He is my best friend," Harry said as he got to his feet. He kissed Daphne on the cheek, "Have a good day with the girls," he added as he jogged down the stairs into the common room.

"Hey Harry," A familiar voice said the moment Harry came out of the staircase.

Harry frowned as he looked at Lilly, who was casually lounging on the sofa, "Where are you and Nev off to today?"

"Neville is assisting me," Harry said quietly, "With a certain type of shopping for Daphne."

Lilly raised an eyebrow at him, "Are you buying her lingerie or an engagement ring?"

"The latter," Harry said in amusement, "And your boyfriend happens to have fine taste, by the way."

"Interesting," Lilly chuckled, "Well, have fun and good luck."

"Thanks," Harry said simply as Neville appeared at the bottom of the stairs. He kissed Lilly lightly on the lips and said goodbye before walking over to Harry.

"Ready to go?"

"Yep," Harry said as he and Neville left the common room and made their way down the spiral staircase out of the tower.

"My girlfriend is far too nosy," Harry said in amusement.

Neville chuckled at this, "Did Daphne try and wheedle it out of you this morning then?"

"Yes, she did," Harry said, "I threw her off the scent by saying I was helping you buy Lilly a birthday present."

Neville laughed, "Which is true technically because I am going to do that."

"Exactly," Harry said with a slight smirk.

The two boys made their way out of the castle and then apparated to Diagon Alley. Neville strode ahead and made his way into the jewellers, but Harry held back slightly. This was a big step for him, so Harry took a moment to catch his breath before following Neville inside.

"So what kind of thing are you looking for?" Harry asked Neville.

"Something simple," Neville said thoughtfully, "I'm thinking some sort of necklace...probably gold... just like that..."

Harry peered over Neville's shoulder at the necklace. It was simple, and it was gold. It had a golden heart pendant with a pearl in the middle and diamonds lining the heart.

"Very nice," Harry agreed with a smile, "I wish buying an engagement ring for Daphne was that simple..."

Neville chuckled, "I'll pay for this. You start looking," he said.

Harry took his friends advice and walked along, he looked into cabinet after cabinet full of engagement rings, and after 5 or 10 minutes, one caught his eye.

"Would you like to have a better look, sir?" The woman behind the desk asked, and Harry said yes. The woman handed him the ring, and he examined it more carefully. It was silver with a diamond at its centre. The entire band was decked out with diamonds and emeralds. There were two strips of emerald at the top and bottom of the band, and the centre was diamond, like the stone set into the ring. It wasn't too chunky, it was undoubtedly fantastic and sophisticated, and it would look perfect on Daphne's finger.

He stared at the ring for a moment. He thought about it, he really thought about whether or not this was a sensible decision, but he knew he wanted to marry Daphne, he wanted to raise Teddy with her, he wanted them to have their own children one day. He knew it was what he wanted.

"Wow, nice ring," Neville said as he appeared silently by Harry's side.

"I'll take it," Harry said to the woman behind the desk.

"Seriously?" Neville asked with a grin.

Harry nodded at his friend as he paid for the ring.

They slipped out of the jewellers together, and Harry grinned at Neville, "It was perfect."

"Daph will love it," Neville agreed, "Come on, let's go for a drink to celebrate."

"To celebrate what?" Harry joked, "You don't know if she'll say yes."

"She'll say yes," Neville said with a knowing smile, "When are you planning on proposing?"

"I have no idea," Harry said honestly as they entered the pub, "When the moment feels right, I guess."

Neville patted Harry proudly on the back, "I'm proud of you, Harry, congrats!" he chirped.

When Harry and Neville got back to the common room, the girls were out, so it made sneaking upstairs and hiding their purchases all the easier. However, Harry did make sure to perform all the necessary checks to ensure that Daphne wasn't hiding under his invisibility cloak in the common room or his dorm room. He wouldn't have put it past her to do such a thing.

Harry smiled slightly to himself with the ring safely stowed away in his trunk for the moment until he had time to find a better hiding place. He had asked Neville to keep it to himself, and he knew that he would. Harry didn't plan on telling Draco or Theo about the ring; for now, he wanted to keep it as secret as possible.

As the week wore on, Harry didn't get enough time away from Daphne to hide the ring, but then on Tuesday evening, he had a genius idea. He waited until very late at night, and when Daphne finally fell asleep, he grabbed the ring, pocketed it and made his way out of the dorm room and through the common room. Once he was outside in the corridor, he opened up the Marauders map and scanned it. He needed to go down the spiral staircase, out of the Eastern Tower to the east side of the seventh floor, onto the grand staircase and then back onto the seventh floor on the west side to reach his destination. Usually, that was an easy type of run at 3 am, but there were many obstacles tonight for some reason.

Harry smirked, just like old times, he thought to himself. He then had a slight pang of pain because Ron wasn't with him at the moment. He had loved sneaking around the castle with his best friend in the dead of night. He was missing the redhead more than usual now, but maybe that was his impending proposal making him sentimental.

"Harry!"

Harry jumped, and the invisibility cloak slipped slightly. He spun around to see that Hermione had just made her way onto the landing and had collided with him. The moment she realised she had hit something invisible, she knew it was Harry.

"Hermione!" Harry said as his heart rate started to return to normal, "Why are you out of bed so late?"

Hermione blushed at the question and replied, "Everyone is so relaxed, Harry! They all try and get me to stop studying, but you know me. I have to study, or I'll never pass, so I've been sneaking into the library and studying late at night."

Harry rolled his eyes and chuckled at this, "I'd never change you, Hermione," he said fondly, "Do you want to sneak out with me?"

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked curiously.

"McGonagall's office first, then somewhere else hopefully," Harry said with a grin.

Hermione frowned, "Harry...what if McGonagall's awake?"

"She won't be," Harry said with a smile, "Come on, Hermione, let's do it for old time sakes. Don't you think it will be fun to sneak around under the invisibility cloak one last time?"

Hermione smiled a little sheepishly, and Harry added, "We leave at the end of June. We're not going to get many more chances."

"Oh, alright," Hermione said with a grin as Harry lifted the cloak and let Hermione come under it with him.

Because neither of them were exceptionally tall, they could fit under it together.

"Do you remember when all three of us could stand under this at our full height without our feet being seen?" Hermione asked with a small smile.

Harry smiled too, "Yeah, I do. Its little things like this I'll miss when we leave."

"Me too, Harry," Hermione said softly. Together they made their way down the spiral staircase out of the tower. They narrowly avoided Slughorn on his patrol of the seventh floor as they came out of the tower, but they didn't run into any problems on the grand staircase. Once Harry and Hermione made their way into the west side of the seventh floor, they met a pretty big obstacle.

Filch was muttering and cursing outside of McGonagall's office because one of the gargoyles was slightly damaged.

"I'll get you for this, Peeves. You'll be out of this school for once and for all," Filch muttered angrily as he swept up the mess.

"How do we get past Filch?" Hermione asked in a whisper. Harry smiled; it really was just like old times.

"I don't know, but we need to distract him, and we need the password to the office," Harry whispered back.

Hermione smirked, "I'm the Head Girl, remember? I know it."

"Hermione, you are fantastic," Harry grinned as he glanced back over to Filch and tried to formulate a plan to distract him.

Harry heard the distant noise of smashing on the lower floor and steered Hermione back onto the grand staircase and down onto the sixth floor.

They found Peeves in a disused bathroom on the sixth floor, banging on pipes and flooding the place, "Taking a leaf out of Myrtle's book, don't you think?" Harry asked in a whisper to Hermione, who chuckled at this.

"Alright, here goes," Harry said quietly. He raised his voice to a harsh, loud whisper and said, "Peeves..."

Peeves spun around and stopped making noise instantly, "What...who...who said that?"

"It is I, the Bloody Baron," Harry said as Hermione shook with silent laughter next to him, "And I demand you to remove Filch from the seventh floor."

"Oh, your baron, your holiness, your lordship," Peeves said as he bowed in mid-air, "I am your loyal servant, sir."

"I have business there Peeves, I need him far away," Harry continued as Hermione began to cry silently with laughter. She hadn't been with him when he'd done this before. It had been him and Ron, Ron; there was another pang of pain at that thought.

"Of course, your bloodiness," Peeves said quickly, and he zoomed away. Harry let Hermione have a moment to catch her breath.

"Oh Harry, that was fantastic!" Hermione said through her laughter as they made their way back onto the grand staircase, "Ron told me about it the last time, but I can't believe he bought it!"

Harry grinned, "I am my father's son at times, Hermione," he said simply as they reached the west end of the seventh floor where Filch was still sweeping and cursing.

Then there was an almighty crash from a few floors down, and Filch dropped his brush and hurried away, still cursing Peeves.

Hermione hi-fived Harry and said, "That was great!"

As fast as they could under the cloak, they hurried to the gargoyle. Hermione whispered, "Loch Ness," and the gargoyle sprang to life and moved to the side. Harry and Hermione made their way silently up the staircase and through the wooden door into the office, which was thankfully empty.

Harry made sure to lock and barricade the door silently to McGonagall's quarters, and then he took the cloak off and walked over to Dumbledore's portrait.

"Dumbledore," Harry said quietly.

The old man in the portrait immediately opened his eyes and smiled, "Ah, Harry, I wondered when I might be seeing you."

Harry smiled at this, "I came to ask your advice on something."

"Ask away, my boy," Dumbledore said. He peered at Harry over his half-moon glasses, and Harry couldn't help but think, some things never change.

"Well, I have a very sneaky and curious Slytherin girlfriend," Harry said with a chuckle, "And I need a place to hide her engagement ring, somewhere she won't find it."

Dumbledore smiled; it was as if he had read Harry's mind, "The Mirror of Erised is located in a secret tower that very few students know about. However, I trust you and Miss. Granger to keep its location to yourselves."

Harry nodded, and Hermione did too a secret tower? This was their biggest adventure yet.

"The tower is called "The Founders Tower", and it is so named because when the castle was built, there was an extra tower. Of course, some towers are not in use anymore, but this tower seemed to have vanished entirely. It was only known about through writings from the founders' time," Dumbledore explained, and Hermione watched the former Headmaster in amazement, "The tower was where the founders lived. Still, after the last founder died, it was shut off out of respect to them. It is believed that the sorting hat was created in the tower. After the founders died, the entrance to the tower was lost."

"How could it be lost?" Hermione asked, "Surely people can see it from outside the castle?"

Dumbledore smiled fondly at Hermione, "Ah, therein lies the secret, Miss Granger. When the castle was first built, the largest towers did not yet exist, nor did the sixth or seventh floor. The founder's descendants installed these as the population grew."

Hermione's eyes widened, "So the tower is actually inside the school because the upper floors were built around it!"

Dumbledore's eyes sparkled, "Indeed. When Rosemary Ravenclaw added another wing to the castle, she inadvertently blocked off the entrance to the tower."

"So, how was it discovered?" Hermione asked quickly; she was intrigued.

"Hogwarts was damaged during the goblin wars long ago, and the damage to the castle was mostly fixed. However, the seventh floor was not in use during that period. By the time repairs were finally conducted, the goblin wars had been over for a long time," Dumbledore explained, "The Headmaster found a door through a knocked-down wall while repairing the floor and followed it up to the founder's tower. As soon as he realised what it was, he made the entrance secret out of respect to the founders. Ever since then, the secret has been passed down from Headmaster to Headmaster."

"Wow, that's amazing," A wide-eyed Hermione said, "But why are you telling us, Professor?"

Dumbledore's eyes still sparkled as he smiled and said, "I suspect one of you will succeed, Minerva."

Harry and Hermione shared a smile at this, and Dumbledore continued, "In fact, I find it highly likely that at some point in the future you Harry will be Headmaster, and you Miss Granger will be the Deputy Headmistress, so this secret would always be known to you, just perhaps not so soon."

"So, how do we find the entrance?" Harry asked excitedly.

"On the seventh floor on the east side, you will find a secret entrance. In fact, it is very close to the Eastern Tower where your common room resides," Dumbledore informed them, "Are you aware of the secret rooms in that part of the castle?"

"Uh, well, there is the Poltergeist passage and the Hall of Hexes," Harry said. He knew of both rooms, but he had never really used them.

"Indeed, the Poltergeist Passage is so named because it was the corridor where poor old Peeves died," Dumbledore said, "The Hall of Hexes housed a duel between two students, one of those students was Peeves. He stumbled out into the Poltergeist Passage after being hurt in the duel and died. Yet tales as sad as this somehow did not make it into the history books."

"That's awful," Hermione said sadly, "Poor Peeves."

"Are you aware of a room known generally as the Room of Runes?" Dumbledore asked.

Hermione shook her head straight away, but Harry consulted the Marauders map and replied, "It's on the map, but there isn't a door into it, and all I could see was a wall."

Dumbledore smiled almost mischievously, "The Room of Runes is the key to finding the Founders Tower. What may seem to be an ordinary wall is not so ordinary, and the codes on the walls of the Room of Runes will tell you how to find the Founder's Tower."

"Is that all you're going to tell us?" Harry asked as he gaped at the portrait.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Harry, of course, he can't tell us! It's a puzzle; we have to figure it out for ourselves."

Harry rolled his eyes back at Hermione and said, "But that's difficult."

Dumbledore's portrait chuckled, and Hermione said in an exasperated tone, "You wanted one last adventure together. This is it."

Harry grinned, "Alright, let's do this then! Thanks, Professor."

They then heard movement from McGonagall's quarters, so they quickly pulled the cloak on and hurried from the office and back onto the seventh floor.

Harry glanced at the map and made sure that the path was clear, then he and Hermione set off back to the east side of the seventh floor.

"So, you're proposing to Daphne?" Hermione asked with a smirk as they made their way up the grand staircase.

Harry smiled at his best friend, "Yeah, I bought the ring on Saturday. Only Neville and you know though. I'm trying to keep it a secret."

"Can I see the ring?" Hermione asked, and Harry nodded. He pulled the little black box from his pocket and handed it to Hermione, who opened it and gasped at the ring, "Wow, Harry, that's perfect, Daphne will love it."

Harry grinned even more broadly at this, "I know," he said as he put the ring back into his pocket.

"I'm really proud of you, Harry," Hermione said with a big smile.

"Thanks," Harry said happily as he and Hermione made their way along the east corridor of the 7th floor. Harry was now focusing on the map and running his finger along it.

"Here is the poltergeist passage," Harry said quietly. Hermione looked at the map. There were a series of rooms she didn't know existed between the entrance to the North Tower and the Eastern Tower.

"I knew they were there, I found them one night," Harry said with a slight frown, "That room there is just a long corridor that isn't used leading to a room, it seemed pretty ordinary, it was just a room with some chairs and stuff in it."

"Well, we know why it was shut off now," Hermione said, "It was where Peeves died."

"Yeah," Harry said thoughtfully, his finger was still hovering on the map, "And the other room coming off that corridor is a disused bathroom. I think it was the Head Boy and Head Girls bathroom at one point."

Hermione chuckled, and Harry looked at her with a frown, "What do you know?"

Hermione smiled at her friend, "I know why it's not in use anymore," she admitted, "The year your parents were Head Boy and Head Girl, Dumbledore decided a shared bathroom wasn't an excellent idea."

Harry burst out laughing at this, "That's brilliant. How did you find that out, Mione?"

"Sirius told me that summer we spent at Grimmauld Place," Hermione said with a somewhat sad smile.

Harry smiled fondly at Sirius's memory and looked back down at the map. Hermione looked down too and traced her finger along the main corridor, "Well, there's the North Wing," she said thoughtfully, "But that's just a study hall. I doubt the Room of Runes is hidden off of there."

"It's here," Harry said. He pointed at the map and showed Hermione a long, thin room on the map, "That's the Room of Runes, and the big uncharted bit behind it is the founder's tower."

Harry and Hermione strolled along the main corridor until they reached the wall that the Room of Runes was through. They both looked up at the same time, but the wall was completely blank and ordinary.

"There isn't even a tapestry," Hermione said with a sigh.

"Or a mirror, that's how you get into the Poltergeist Passage," Harry said as he and Hermione continued to stare at the wall for a moment. They walked closer to the wall, and Harry noticed a small engraving, "What does that mean, Hermione?"

Hermione frowned, "I can't see through the fabric of the cloak," she whispered.

"Take it off then," Harry whispered back, "I'll keep a lookout," he pulled the cloak off of them both and let Hermione get a good look at the marking on the wall.

"Harry, this is an ancient rune," Hermione whispered, "It means blood."

Harry frowned. Why would there be a rune for blood on the wall? It was only then that it hit him; it could be blood magic like the cave where Voldemort had hidden Slytherin's locket. Without telling Hermione what he was doing or even thinking about it too much, he muttered a spell that cut into his hand, and then he pressed his hand onto the rune.

Hermione gasped and whispered, "Harry! What are you doing?"

Before Harry could reply, the wall jumped into life, and where the blood rune had been, a panel pushed out of the wall, "Its blood magic. I saw Dumbledore use it once," Harry explained.

Hermione frowned as she looked at the panel on the wall, "It's some kind of puzzle," she said.

Harry looked at it and realised it was related to runes, "I can't help. I've never taken Ancient Runes."

"I know," Hermione said as she got immersed in the puzzle, "Just make sure nobody catches us."

"That I can do," Harry said with a chuckle as he looked down at the map to make sure that nobody was coming their way.

Harry expected Hermione to take a while to crack it, but he had been examining the map for less than two minutes when she exclaimed, "I've got it!"

Harry spun around just in time to see the wall fold back into itself, rather like the wall in Diagon Alley did when you accessed it through the Leaky Cauldron. Harry and Hermione made their way into the secret room and gaped at it in amazement as the wall folded shut behind them. Every surface of the wall was covered in runes apart from one section opposite the entrance they had come in through, which was in the shape of a door.

"How the hell are we supposed to figure out what to do to open that door?" Harry asked as he looked at the vast amount of ruins covering the walls.

"Well, it's a code," Hermione said as she walked slowly around the room, "To gain access to the tower, we'll need to figure out something to do with each house."

"What do the runes on the walls say?" Harry asked; he felt completely useless.

"Well these," Hermione said, pointing to the left wall, "Are the traits of Gryffindor, the ones over there," she pointed to the right wall, "Are the traits of Slytherin," she spun around and pointed to the wall with the door to the tower on it, "Those are the traits of Ravenclaw and the ones behind us are the traits of Hufflepuff."

"What about the writing along the bottom?"

"That part isn't so easy to translate. It's really old runes; nobody can fully translate them," Hermione admitted as she bit her lip, "I can make out the words…quest, tower, wit, knowledge and test."

"So it's some test of our wit and knowledge to get into the tower," Harry guessed. He stared at the door in confusion as he tried to figure out what that meant.

"Harry..." Hermione realised, "Some of these panels can be pushed in," she frowned and stepped forward, "do you think we need to spell something out?"

"I don't know," Harry said truthfully, "Can you read out what the letters are?"

"ew, oufr, rea, nncoecetd, otn, yb, lbodo, utb, yb, a, nwat, rfo, a, lpcae, fo, elnagirn, nad, a, ssipaon, ofr, oknldegew."

Harry frowned, "Hermione...it's a code! We four are...connected not by blood...but by a want for...a place of learning...and a passion...for knowledge."

"Harry, you're a genius!" Hermione said loudly as she pushed the panels into the wall in the correct order. Once the last panel had been pressed into the wall, something began to happen. The part of the wall that was shaped like a door slid back and revealed the secret entrance.

Harry strode ahead eagerly with Hermione at his heels. They made their way up a stone staircase onto a landing at the top. Six doors were leading off of the large landing, and they all had signs on them...

Quarters of Godric Gryffindor

Quarters of Salazar Slytherin

Quarters of Helga Hufflepuff

Quarters of Rowena Ravenclaw

Shared Common Room

Study/Library/Research Lab

"Harry, where should we go?" Hermione asked once she had read the plaque on each door, "Dumbledore didn't tell us which room it was in."

"The common room," Harry said immediately. He stepped forward and turned the handle. The door pushed open with a creak, and the fire and the lights on the wall roared to life.

"Wow, this is exactly the same as the eighth year common room," Hermione said as she stopped in her tracks upon walking into the room.

"It is a bit creepy," Harry agreed as he looked around the room, "There it is!"

Hermione watched curiously as Harry walked over to the Mirror of Erised and pulled the box out of his pocket. He stood in front of the mirror and closed his eyes. Hermione didn't know what he was doing, but she was astonished as she saw the box vanish from his hand.

Harry opened his eyes and grinned, "It worked!"

"What exactly did you just do?" Hermione asked in amazement.

"Do you remember in first year how I had to go through and face Quirrell alone?" Harry asked, and Hermione nodded, "Well, Dumbledore hid the Philosophers Stone in the mirror so that you could only get it out if you wanted to find it but not use it, so I got the stone out of the mirror when Quirrell couldn't."

"So you just hid the ring in the mirror," Hermione realised with a smile.

Harry smirked, "You've rubbed off on me Mione, I'm not quite as clueless and daft as I once was."

Hermione hooked her arm through Harry's, and they made their way out of the tower, "You aren't clueless or daft, Harry. You have never been."

As April continued to drag by slowly and the exams started to get closer, everybody got more depressed, but then one day was worse than the others...

On Sunday the 26th of April, certain eighth years were more subdued than others.

Harry made his way down to the common room with Daphne, who had been quiet since they had woken up.

Harry had asked her what was wrong, but she had only faked a smile and said it was nothing. He knew not to push her, so he had nodded and accepted what she said as true.

When they reached the common room, and Harry realised that Sadie, Theo, and Draco were just as quiet and subdued, he knew that something was up. Harry frowned as Daphne said she wasn't going to go to breakfast, and instead, he and Hermione left the common room.

"It would have been Tracey's birthday today," Hermione explained to Harry the moment the door had shut behind them.

"Oh," Harry realised with a frown, "Should we do something? To comfort them?"

Hermione shook her head, "There isn't anything we can do, Harry. They need to do this alone; all we can do is be there for them if they need us."

Harry smiled slightly at Hermione, "When did you get so wise?" he asked.

Hermione gave him a sad smile and said honestly, "When we left the civilised world to live in a tent for months."

As Harry and Hermione sat at the eighth year table in the great hall, they were silent as a mark of respect to Tracey. They then made their way back upstairs to the common room where the Slytherins were still sitting, staring silently into the fire.

Harry and Hermione spent the next little while trying to do something to draw their friends out of their sad state. They tried to talk to them, but they got no response, so they tried to get them out of the castle instead. Harry had asked them if they wanted to go to Hogsmeade or out on the bikes and had gotten no response to either question, so he gave up.

"I've had enough of this!" Harry exclaimed as he stood up angrily in front of them, "I didn't know Tracey as well as you did, but I know she wouldn't want you to all wallow around all day! She didn't have the chance to become a day older, let alone a year older, but you all do! You have a life; you have the chance to get older every year and achieve new things! So stop wasting your day sitting around being miserable and celebrate being alive!"

The speech brought them all out of their dazes, or whatever it was that they were in. Draco, Daphne, Theo and Sadie all looked up at Harry.

"Shut up, Potter, you don't know what this feels like," Theo said bitterly.

This only made Harry angrier, "I don't know what it feels like? I got through what should have been my godfather's 40th birthday in November. It was Remus Lupin's birthday in March, and I loved him like a Father. I'm raising his child! But did you hear me moan about it? You have to pull yourselves out of this."

"Harry's right," Daphne said. Her voice was quiet and weak, but she stood up, "Tracey wouldn't want us to spend her birthday being miserable."

Sadie nodded; she wiped her eyes and stood up, "No, she would want us to enjoy it."

"If she were alive, what would you do today?" Harry asked the group.

"We'd play Quidditch, we always did on Tracey's birthday," Draco said as he caught Theo's eye.

Theo sighed and nodded, "She loved it."

"Alright, then. That's what you'll do today," Harry said, "In fact, that's what we'll all do. I'll see you on the pitch in half an hour."

The group dispersed to their dorm rooms to get changed, but Daphne stuck by Harry's side, "Thank you, Harry," she whispered with slightly teary eyes. She kissed her boyfriend on the cheek and hurried up the stairs.

From where she was watching, Hermione smiled, "With speeches like that, you'd make a good Minister for Magic, never mind a Headmaster," she teased.

Harry chuckled and sat down next to her, "Minister? No. But I think I'd like to be Headmaster one day," he said as he smiled into the distance. Hogwarts was his home; he imagined a part of it would always be in his heart, and he would love to return to it one day.

The day after what would have been Tracey's birthday and the impromptu Quidditch game, everybody was in higher spirits as they made their way down to the great hall for breakfast together.

The day started spectacularly ordinarily as the group sat down and started eating their breakfast. The moment the day got less ordinary was when the post arrived, and three identical owls made their way to the eighth year table and dropped three identical letters in the laps of Harry, Neville and Hermione. A similar owl made its way over to the Gryffindor table and dropped a letter in front of Ginny. A fifth owl made its way to the Ravenclaw table and deposited a letter on Luna's lap.

Hermione and Neville frowned as they opened their letters. Still, as Harry opened his, he had a reasonably good idea that it had something to do with the memorial for the war's first anniversary. After all, May was creeping up on them quickly, and the letters were definitely from the Ministry. When Harry looked down at his letter, his hunch was confirmed.

"Mr Harry James Potter,

I am writing to you today on behalf of the Minister for Magic. As I am sure you are aware, we are approaching the first anniversary of The Battle of Hogwarts. In addition to this, on the 2nd of May this year, we will celebrate one year of peace amongst wizards, muggles, and creatures alike.

The Ministry of Magic cordially invites you to a Ministry ball in honour of yourself and several other heroes of both the Great Wizarding War and the Second Wizarding War. This ball will be held on Saturday the 1st of May and will begin at 7 pm. We would consider it an honour if you and certain other war veterans would open the ball. If you accept, we will invite you to a meeting and practice session beginning at 6 pm on Friday, the 31st of April, in the Ballroom suite on level 3 of the Ministry of Magic. You are welcome to bring a guest to this ball.

In addition to a ball, there will also be a memorial service held at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to remember those who died in both wars, particularly the students who died in The Battle of Hogwarts. It would be much appreciated if you could prepare a speech for this event, this will be covered in the aforementioned meeting.

All of our best wishes,

The Minister for Magic's Office"

At the bottom of the letter was Kingsley's handwritten signature.

"What does yours say?" Harry asked Hermione and Neville.

Before they could reply, Ginny approached the table and sat down next to Harry. She frowned and asked, "Did anyone else get this letter?"

"Yeah," Harry said as he showed Ginny his, "Did they invite you to the ball?"

Ginny nodded, "And asked me to open it with other war veterans."

"That's what mine said too," Hermione said.

Neville added, "And mine."

"I think it's an honour," A new voice said as Luna approached the table and sat down next to Ginny, "I've never been to a Ministry Ball before."

"Didn't you go to the one at the end of the war, Luna?" Hermione asked.

Luna shook her head, "No, I was busy fixing my house with Daddy."

"Well, you didn't miss much," Harry joked with a smile, "It's just a lot of speeches, some dancing and talking to lots of annoying Ministry workers."

At this, Luna just smiled and said, "I like dancing. It sounds like lots of fun!"

With that, Luna skipped away from the table. Harry chuckled after her, "I still think Luna's perspective of the world is great."

"She's a bit odd though, isn't she?" Daphne asked. She didn't mean for it to sound nasty.

"She's brilliant," Ginny said with a grin as she watched the Ravenclaw leave the great hall.

"She is. Anyway, my letter also asked if I'd give a speech at the memorial service on the 2nd of May at Hogwarts," Harry said with a dark look. He didn't like remembering the darkness of the previous year.

"You give good speeches," Hermione said, but she could tell that Harry wasn't thrilled about the idea.

"That doesn't mean I like giving them," Harry said, and at this, Hermione and Daphne shared exasperated glances.

"So they want the five of us to open the ball as war heroes," Ginny summarised. She rolled her eyes, "We can't exactly say no to Kingsley after all he's done for us, can we?"

"No, and I wouldn't want to," Hermione said honestly, "Although I think it might be the six of us. I expect Ron was asked too, and I think it's a good idea, Ginny. I hate being celebrated as some kind of hero as much as the rest of you, but I think we have a duty to turn up to a ball and do a dance. It's not like they are asking a lot of us, is it?"

"You're right, Hermione," Neville said.

Harry smiled. He was honoured to be asked to be a part of the proceedings, but he hated giving speeches, and although he could dance now, he didn't like doing it, especially in front of an audience.

Daphne smiled at him and slipped her hand into his under the table, "Hey, it will be okay. Like you said, it's a chance to celebrate life."

"Thank you," Harry whispered as he kissed her lightly. He thought about the ring hidden in the Mirror of Erised in the lost Founders Tower, and he found himself grinning much to Daphne's bemusement. At this point in his life, he felt luckier than ever before. At that moment, he didn't care about the speeches or the publicity because he had Daphne by his side, and if she said yes when he gave her that ring (and he was reasonably sure that she would), then he would have her there for the rest of his life.

* ~ TBC ~ *