The cucio he had faced at the hands of Voldemort felt tame compared to what he felt now. The physical agony he had felt was nothing against the heart numbing ache that spiked every breath he took and It only got worse every time he saw her together with Ron.
They had won at last, Voldemort was now a thing of the past, but as he had won, he had also lost. Remus, Tonks, Fred, Collin, all dead, and the one person he needed close, wasn't there. He couldn't fault her, she too had suffered after all. Her screams at Malfoy manor still haunted him, and his nightmares of her death continued to torture him. She had done enough and deserved to be happy, if the person she was happy with wasn't him then he would do nothing about it. He would put on a mask of happiness for them, just like he had done most of his life.
Sighing he leaned back against the tree, looking out across the calm surface of the black lake. He pushed his heartache aside and thought about what he wanted to do now, now that he had no burden of a mass murderer on his shoulder. He had always thought that Hermione would beside him when the time came to move on to the next step in life, but it seemed it was not to be so. He had thought about being an Auror of course, but that was before all of this. Now he knew, he wanted to live his life in peace. His thoughts went to the tales Sirius used to tell him, his adventures across continents when was a young man, and the sound of it appealed to him. He had been confined for too long, and his desire to travel the world freely had greatly heightened. Yes, he decided, he would go visit the marvels of the world, both wizarding and muggle.
His mind made up, he took out his wand and summoned a quill and parchment from the castle. If it was anyone else, their summoning would have resulted in no result, but a minute later his summoned items flew into his hands. He mused about where he would start, and after a lot of thinking, he decided he would start in Asia. He had heard that parseltongue was a revered language in some parts of south Asia, and he wished to explore more of that aspect within him.
Time flew by as he jotted down all the places he wanted to visit, and the sun was already setting when he was finally done. After giving his list another glance over, he got up and dusted himself before heading back up to the castle. He had decided he wanted to set his affairs straight tomorrow and start his journey the day after. This would also give him enough time to say goodbyes. That thought didn't sadden him as it should have, he had already resigned himself to being alone.
He walked into the great hall, and after a quick scan of the crowd, headed towards where the Weasleys and Hermione were sat at. As he got closer, he saw Ron's hand around Hermione, and another ache spiked deep within him. It was also then that Hermione turned around and noticed him.
"Where have you been, Harry? We've looking for you al over the place", she cried. Her voice tinged with a hint of rising panic.
He flashed her a small smile before sitting across from her.
"I was out near the lake, it helped me relax", he replied.
She looked like she was about to say something but he continued before she could.
"I've also decided what I want to do next. I've decided that I want to travel."
His declaration halted all the conversation among the Weasleys. Bill and George each gave small quirky grins towards him, Mr. Weasley seemed to approve of his choice, Mrs. Weasley looked concerned but supportive nonetheless, Ginny looked like she was about to burst in tears, Ron looked somewhat irked, and Hermione had a myriad of emotion running through her face, from understanding to desire to sadness.
"Where will you go?", Hermione asked in a small voice.
He simply took out the parchment he had been writing on, and passed it to her. He watched her face as she read the places he wanted to visit, and he could see how much she herself wanted to go visit those places.
"We'll go too", she said all of a sudden. Her eyes searching his for something, but he looked down at his plate.
"We…we can't…we can't go right now Herms. You know I have to work with George at the shop. We can go after I make some money you know", Ron mumbled, distinctly uncomfortable with talking about his family's financial status.
Hermione not even bothering to look at Ron before calmly replying," I have some money left over. We can go to Australia too and get..".
Harry looked up sharply at her words and before she could continue on he said, "NO".
She looked startled for a second, before her eyes reflected the hurt at his words. He made to explain his reaction before she could jump to conclusions.
"I want to do this alone. I'm incredibly grateful for everything you've done for me Hermione, but I think when you go on this trip it should be with just Ron. I don't want to be in the way. Now, I feel incredibly tired, so I'm going to go upstairs and retire to bed. Goodnight everyone."
With that he got up, and walked out the great hall.
Hermione looked on, as she watched Harry walk away. She should have felt overjoyed on the prospect of going on a trip around the world with just her boyfriend, but she only felt hurt that Harry didn't want to go with them. She tried to reason with herself that it was only because she was concerned about his well being, but even to her own ears, that sounded hollow.
"Herms, isn't that great. I don't have to work for the money anymore. We can just use yours and travel." Ron's excited voice said from beside her.
Her annoyance spiked at his disregard for their friend's distancing, and his nickname for her only irked her more. It's the stress, she thought and put on a smile.
"Yes, Ron. We can go get my parents soon, and you can meet them." She replied. And as the evening turned to night, she felt her sadness only grow, and Ron's arm around her only felt more uncomfortable with every passing second.
As he walked down the alley to Gringotts, he grew more subdued with every destroyed shop he passed by. The recent war and terror clear in it's desolate environment. He picked up his face and made a beeline for his destination, wanting to get out of the alley.
His previous thoughts were quick to lose themselves when he had four spears at his neck as soon as he entered Gringotts. The goblins holding them looked surlier than ever, and looked as if taking off his head would be their greatest wish.
"You are now a prisoner of Gringotts Human. You will walk quietly with us to meet with Chief Ragnok," growled one of the gobilins. Having had expected a reaction of this nature, he simply nodded at them while trying to disregard the massive hole in the middle of the floor.
He soon found himself being roughly shoved through dark halls, his wand seized, and hands tied behind his back. When they reached a massive door guarded by six goblins, he was taken by the arms and taken in. Despite his predicament, he had to take a second to appreciate the intricate nature of goblin work. The chamber within was simply beautiful, and on one end of the chamber was a throne where a regal looking Goblin sat. The goblin's displeasure at his presence clearer than the sun on a cloudless day.
"May your enemies fall and your gold flow in rivers Chief Ragnok," he greeted the goblin upon the shrine, taking a moment to mentally pat his own back at having learnt goblin greetings. His words had clearly taken everyone in the room by surprise.
"May your life continue on beyond today Mr. Potter," Ragnok said back. A threat and promise all laced into a greeting.
"You have committed a crime against the Goblin nation, Mr. Potter. You have broken into Gringotts and stolen from one of it's vault. Should you not have a sufficient explanation for this, you will be beheaded before the nation. "
He was mildly surprised at himself for not even feeling the slightest bit of fear at his possible beheading, but I guess literally dying does that to person. He met Ragnok's eyes and decided to simply tell him the entire truth, from Griphook's deal at shell cottage to break out with the dragon. He made especially sure to mention Horcruxes and it's key role in destroying Voldemort. By the time he had finished his tale, Ragnok looked absolutely furious.
"Are you trying to say that there was a Abelai in one of our vaults and we were kept uninformed?", Ragnok snarled at him.
"Yes, in the lestrange vault like I just told you", he replied back calmly.
"How do I know this to be the truth?", asked the Chief.
He sighed as he closed his eyes and called on his magic ,"I Harry James Potter, hereby swear that everything that I have said inside this chamber is the truth and truth only." He saw a flash of gold around him as the vow took hold. Although his vow didn't have the desired result.
"How dare you bring another wand in front of the Chief," one of the goblin soldiers growled and brought a spear to his chin.
"I didn't. I did it wandless", he stated.
The guard made to say something at him, pushing the spear deeper but Ragnok snarled something at the Goblin before he could draw blood. He felt the spear leave from under his chin after a second, and looked back up at Ragnok.
"While some wizards can do wandless magic, an oath requires a wand Mr. Potter . Yet, I do not doubt your words, the magic from your vow was a real as any oath made with a wand. You are clearly an exceptional wizard." Ragnok said to him. Ragnok also motioned something to the gaurds, and he felt the guards free his hand the next moment.
"Thank you Chief Rangok."
"The goblin nation despises soul magic and has worked against it for thousands of years. You destroyed one that was residing within Gringotts, and while I do not appreciate you destroying half the bank to do so, I will not hold it against you as it was a war. Now, saying that, we will of course seized all the contents from the lestrange and gaunt vault to pay for the repairs.,"
He made to acknowledge his surprise at Ragnok's actions but apparently the surprises didn't end there and Ragnok continued on.
"We are also aware of your role in ending this war Mr. Potter. The goblin nation had been forced to retreat into the tunnels after Voldemort's attack, but your triumph stopped him from forcing his way any deeper. You will now be recognized as a warrior within Gringotts warrior Potter."
To say he was completely taken aback would be a complete understatement. He hadn't expected himself to be convicted ofcourse, but he also hadn't expected to be honoured within these halls. Nonetheless he made sure to show his gratitude.