"Come here, we need a minute." Hermione takes Harry's and Ron's hands, leading them out of the stuffy, densely packed Great Hall. She's trying not to let her emotions catch up with her, but her cheeks are already tear-stained, just like everyone else's. Despite the win, this kind of war isn't easy to come back from.
She doesn't need to push open the wide, oak doors. They haven't been closed since the start of the battle. As the sound of her shoes on the flagstones echoes around them, she remembers the first time she heard that sound here. Back when they were at their first night at Hogwarts, newly Sorted and heading up to their dormitories. Back when everyone was happy and strong and alive.
Hermione wonders if their world will ever go back to a state like that. She hopes so.
Ron and Harry don't even ask where she's taking them. They walk by her sides, more like ghosts than people. Everyone seems more like a ghost than a person now.
The early-morning sun hangs low in the sky, casting a tangerine glow across the grounds. The grass outside the castle is a jarring sight when it's empty like this. Scorch marks cover the front lawn. Gaping holes have been ripped from the earth. A few spots house small fires that haven't died down completely. Embers dance over the yellowed grass. There's but a few tufts left of the green grass they remember.
Hermione leads them down the path toward the Forbidden Forest. It's one of the few times she's voluntarily gone there, but she wants a quiet, isolated place.
The path winds through wide, old trees and thin, wispy ones. Brown leaves coat the ground, crunching under their feet. The sun still pushes its way through the sparse canopy here, and Hermione walks them until they come across a small clearing. "Alright," she says, stopping and taking a seat on a thick, fallen branch. Harry and Ron follow suit, and it's the first time she's really looked at them closely in a while. Scars litter their faces and arms. She's sure her face looks the same. Layers of dirt and sweat and dust piled up enough, only cleared by tearstains. Their eyes are red, puffy, fixed on their hands or the dirt path at their feet. All of their faces wear such age, such exhaustion. It's hard to believe they're still so young.
"I know we should probably get back soon, they'll start to worry. I told Neville where we were in case someone asks. But I needed to get us away from it all for a minute. We haven't had quiet like this in nearly a year. Just time to breathe. I know it probably sounds stupid given everything—"
Harry finally looks up, meets her eyes. "It's not stupid," Ron says. "You're right. We need something like this right now."
"It's nice to believe there can actually be a silver lining to all this. I mean, clearly it's not good, not yet. Or not anymore. But he's gone. Voldemort's really, truly gone. And as much as I believed in you, Harry, I honestly don't think I ever pictured this moment."
"It wasn't just me! You, Ron, everyone—I can't possibly take the credit—"
"Oh, Harry, shut up, will you? You did this. You ended this war."
Harry's hands curl into fists. "At what cost? Look at everyone we lost, I did that."
"Stop that. You didn't kill them, Harry. You saved us all. You didn't need to fight this war. You could've left, or just sat back. And if you had, Voldemort would never have been stopped. Everyone he wanted to kill would be dead, and there'd be no way for the Wizarding World to get back from that." Hermione pauses, looking to Ron for support.
"She's right, mate. You can't save everyone." Ron stops, eyes glazing over with tears. He looks off at a tree in the distance for a moment, watching the leaves rustle, trying to reign in his emotions. There'll be a time for crying later, he knows. There'll be plenty. "But you saved all the Muggles and Muggleborns and 'Blood Traitors.' No one else stood up to him like you did, Harry. And that's the only reason we're still here. It's the only reason we have a future to look forward to." Ron stands from his perch on a stump, crouching down by Harry and patting him on the shoulder. Harry looks up at him, tears in his eyes again.
"I'm so sorry, Ron." His voice is thick. He pulls Ron into a hug, and they stay like that for a minute, Hermione watching on from across the clearing. When they break away, Ron wipes his nose on his sleeve, then goes back to where Hermione sat, taking a seat beside her and wrapping an arm around her waist.
The three of them sit there, faintly grinning at the others through their tears. It almost feel like the old days, like sitting outside of their tent at the Quidditch World Cup or around the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room. She wonders if that joy was truly as short-lived as this. It hits Hermione for the first time how many chapters of their lives have ended.
A snap of a twig in the distance, followed by a soft crinkling noise bring them back to the present. All three have drawn their wands before lighting them and moving toward the noise. Even though the war has ended, the battles will not. They still need to be on guard. The noise passes, and Ron steps forward, shining his light into forest. Harry mutters a quick "Hominum revelio."
"Must've been an animal or something. Whatever it was, it's gone now."
They return to the clearing, wands still in hand, shoulders tense as they sit back down. Hermione considers moving them somewhere else, but decides against it.
Harry pulls out the Marauder's Map from his pocket, almost out of habit more than anything else, double-checking that the Forest is empty.
"It's not gonna be all sunshine and daisies yet, is it?" Ron asks, a hint of incredulity to his voice. Harry and Hermione chuckle, all of them trying to find light in the situation. "I just want a nice, easy life. What's wrong with that?"
"You're telling me," Harry adds, grinning. It's been so long since they've smiled like this.
They fall silent for a moment. Hermione listens to her own breathing. Having the quiet to hear it, to remind herself that she is still alive, it's refreshing. She watches the forest around them: the birds flying out of the treetops in unison, shaking the branches as they depart; the bowtruckles and squirrels chasing each other down the trunks. A lone bee floats between flowers. The gentle rustle of the tree branches and the whistling of the wind is grounding, in a way. It reminds her more than anything that there's always room for a fresh start. Now, more than any other time, there's hope. Hope for the future, hope for themselves and Hogwarts and the entire Wizarding World. She feels relieved, and she can't remember the last time she's felt this way.
She looks back at Harry and Ron. Ron is pensive, staring off into the trees. Harry is looking down at his feet, tears sliding down his cheeks. "Harry?"
He starts, looking up and wiping his eyes under his glasses. He swallows hard. "What do you do when there's nothing but pain left inside of you?" This seems to break him, and the tears fall hard again. Hermione leaves her branch, hurrying over to wrap an arm around Harry. She rubs her thumb in circles against his shoulder, holding him tight.
"Oh, Harry," she murmurs. Hermione wants to find the right words, but they're not coming to her right now. All she can do is be there for him, to listen and understand. It appears to be enough, for now.
"How do we go forward from here? With everyone gone? And, you know, it's been nearly two years that Sirius's been gone. I miss him so much it hurts, Hermione. I still miss my parents. But now, this? How am I supposed to go on when… when there's hardly anyone left?" He breathes deep, staggered, through his sobs.
"You'll always miss them, Harry. But it'll get easier, it'll hurt less. And you've got us, Harry. You've always got us. Promise."
Ron's makes his way over to them, sitting on Harry's other side. "All we can do is keep going. It's what they would've wanted."
"I—I never had a family, when I was little. Then I come here, and I build this family – all of you – and then I ruin it all. Everything."
"Harry, please. You didn't ruin anything." He makes a noise like he's about to argue the point. Hermione cuts him off before he can. "It's the truth. You did absolutely everything you could, and I guarantee you that you're the only one who could've ended this war so quickly." She pulls back, turning to look at him, meeting his eyes. "It's a lot. A lot of loss, a lot of damage. It's overwhelming, I know. But we can build this back up. This family," she gestures at the three of them. They all know that she's including everyone in the Great Hall in mourning. "The school. We can fix the Ministry and make sure nothing like this ever happens again. But in order to make anything better, we need you. And we've got to keep fighting, even when it feels like we've got nothing left in us."
Harry nods, sniffling and wiping his cheeks dry. Hermione knows it'll take a lot of work and effort to get everything back to a functioning system again. They're already so exhausted. She knows it'll drain them of all they have. But she also knows that it'll be worth it all. And she's ready to do whatever she can to make things better for the future. She's got faith that it can be improved.
"We should probably get back. Harry, you alright?"
"As alright as I can be, I guess." He pushes himself up to his feet, turning back and offering a hand to Ron and Hermione, pulling them up as well. The three of them stand there for a moment. They look at each other, and Hermione's trying to see the eleven-year-olds she once knew in them both. There's traces of them, still. But there's so much of that innocence, that excitement, that joy at becoming a part of the Wizarding World that's been shattered. She pulls them both into a tight hug. She never wants to let go.
A/N: Written for: Piñata Club - Hard: Trio Era (wc 1796); Funfair: N – Balloon Wall (setting: Forbidden Forest); E – Penny Slots (27. Hermione Granger, 31. Exhausted, 65. Joy); S – Hedge Maze (emotion: overwhelmed); Writing Club - Character Appreciation 8: (Group) Golden Trio; Bonus; Disney Challenge S2: Write about someone dreaming of a better future; Shannon's Showcase 17: (relationship) Best Friends; Book Club – Peter Pan: (object) map, (setting) Forbidden Forest, (emotion) excited; Showtime 1: (plot point) Making a fresh start; Amber's Attic 1: Ron/Hermione; Count Your Buttons S4: "Look For the Silver Lining" by Leslie Odom Jr.; O4: Glasses; W1: Young; Lyric Alley 31: I've been livin' without a family since I was a child.; Ami's Audio Admirations 15: Write about a character questioning something.; Sophie's Shelf – Vault 68: (restriction) Only one female character; Emy's Emporium – Italy: (setting) Hogwarts; Angel's Arcade – Sora: (trait) Brave; (color) Red; (word set) Light, promise, truth; Lo's Lowdown: O2: Write a fic featuring a lot of physical description; Bex's Biscuit Barrel – Digestive: (word) Crunch, (character) Hermione Granger, (dialogue) "I miss him so much it hurts."; 365 Prompts -94: (Dialogue) "I just want a nice, easy life. What's wrong with that?"; Insane House Challenge 461: (item) Marauder's Map; Seasonal - Days of the Year – September 21: Write about the aftermath of a war; Summer Prompts: (weather) Sunny; Color: Tangerine; Birthstones – Sapphire: (dialogue) "What do you do when there's nothing but pain left inside of you?"; Flowers – Sunflower (creature) Bee; Fire Element: (word) Embers; Shay's Musical Challenge 27: Write about someone struggling to accept something they can't change; Gryffindor Themed Prompts – C: Hermione Granger, T: Heroic