The following days passed quietly. The rest of the tests had been canceled. Usually, everyone would have skirted around Harry's two best friends in the halls, but many were still plagued with guilt over Voldemort's words to Harry. Dumbledore had called a school assembly and explained what had happened, from the Recnac Transfaerso spell to the downfall of their greatest enemy and their fallen hero.
To make up for their past behavior toward Harry, students from all different houses and years approached Ron and Hermione, expressing their apologies for what had happened and for their actions in the past. Many had their own Harry stories, from helping one second year hide from Filch after tracking mud inside, to comforting a third year after she had been yelled at by Snape, to defending a few of the younger students against some bullies. Neither Ron nor Hermione knew about half the stories and were filled with both pride and sorrow at each one. They agreed that to Harry, these events were probably nothing special. He would never know how much he had touched people's lives.
"Well, I think Harry got what he wanted," Ron told Hermione.
"What's that?"
"He's being remembered as Harry rather than just the Boy-Who-Lived."
The two had avoided meals in the Great Hall, not wanting to deal with the pitying glances. The condolences and wary glances from the other students were just too much to handle. Ron had begun to slip in and out of long dazes, staring into space or the fire, not responding to anything around him. He had basically stopped talking to anyone except for Hermione, who often also preferred the silence.
Ginny had hardly come out of her room, and when she had, she was always to be seen clutching either the picture of she and Harry sleeping, or the one of the pair dancing. In one of her few trips out of the Gryffindor tower with Hermione, she had overheard Cho Chang insisting to a group of people that she and Harry had been secretly dating and insinuated that they had slept together.
Nobody really believed her at this point, but it had incensed Ginny so much that the smaller redhead had lunged at Cho and tackled her to the ground. She punched Cho square in the face, screaming for her to never insult the memory of Harry like that again. Hermione, for once, did not make any attempt to stop a fight. The memory of what Cho did to Harry was too fresh in her mind. For the girl to dare try and take away Harry's innocence by spreading her horrid and false rumors was enough to get the girl on her permanent bad list, a place no sane person wanted to be.
Professor McGonagall had somehow pulled Ginny off of Cho, the young Weasley kicking and yelling profanities and threats to Cho the whole time she was being dragged away, while the older girl held her bleeding nose sobbing.
After Ginny explained to her Head of House what had happened, Professor McGonagall smiled and told Ginny she was proud of her loyalty to her friend.
Nobody had seen Fred and George so solemn. There were no pranks, no matching evil grins, no laughing. If they had been passing out food, people would most likely have actually felt safe accepting it. No pranks, with only one exception.
They had been walking down to the kitchens when they had heard Crabbe and Goyle talking about Malfoy's "betrayal," saying that he should have "just cursed the li'l bastard."
That night at dinner, after eating some cupcakes that had appeared on their plates, with the help of Dobby the house elf, their tongues had mysteriously fallen out onto the table. The Slytherins had screamed and scrambled away, as Crabbe and Goyle screamed in horror as best they could without tongues. Fred and George had walked right up to them and warned them never to insult a member of their family again, which, as they made clear, included Harry. Crabbe and Goyle grabbed their tongues and bolted to the Hospital Wing.
The twins were sentenced to detention with Professor McGonagall who gave them sweets and talking to them about their shop. She even ordered a few of the newly developed product, murmuring something about showing stupid Divination professors who talked too much.
Eloise and Neville had taken to the now deserted library to be away from everyone. The place reminded them of their study sessions with Harry. They had taken turns comforting the other as they cried, or had cried together.
They were sitting against a wall in silence when Neville took a deep breath.
"You-Know-Who's followers used the Cruciatus Curse on my parents. They were Aurors and Death Eaters got them. They went insane from the torture," he said quietly, looking at the ground before him. Eloise's eyes went wide and she looked at Neville in horror. "When he used the curse on Harry, I just couldn't…I thought he…the screaming, he looked like he was in so much pain…" he stumbled over the words before breaking down in tears, burying his face in his hands.
"Oh Neville, come here," Eloise said quietly, pulling Neville into a hug, letting him cry into her shoulder.
"I never told anyone before. Maybe I should have told Harry though. He would have understood, you know? He lost his parents to You-Know-Who too," he said with a sniff.
"You-Know-Who ruined so many people's lives," Eloise murmured. "Neville, do you want to talk about your parents?" she asked quietly.
"It's no big deal," he muttered, looking embarrassed.
"Of course it's a big deal! Don't be embarrassed. Shit happens, you know? But it's not good to keep it all inside," she said with a sympathetic smile. Neville nodded.
"Okay," he said quietly. The two leaned back against the wall and Neville laid his head on Eloise's shoulder. And Neville began talking about his parents and living with his gran for the first time.
News had reached the wizarding world by now and people were torn between being happy that the Dark Lord was dead for good, and mourning the loss of their savior, the boy who had sacrificed himself for them all. As many celebrations that were taking place, an equal number of people cried for a boy they never even knew.
People began showing up at Hogwarts, leaving flowers and candles on the Quidditch Pitch. Waves of them showed up, many crying, and soon the Quidditch field was completely covered in flowers, candles, notes, and other tokens of affection for the Boy-Who-Lived-No-Longer.
Hermione was returning from the kitchens, intent on getting Ron to eat something, when she ran into Professor Lupin. The man looked exhausted and depressed. He gave Hermione a sad smile and asked how she was holding up.
"Not so great, to tell you the truth. I'm trying to get Ron to eat more and talk, but he just keeps staring into the fire or sitting on Harry's bed or staring at the door, like he keeps expecting Harry to come through it. I sometimes think he will too," she said, choking back a sob and quickly wiping away some tears. "How's Sirius doing?"
Remus shook his head and sighed. "He hasn't eaten since it happened except for small bits of toast. It's been five days and he's getting so thin. I'm going to get some more food and try to force him to eat. I can't budge him from…" He stopped himself before he said "Harry's body," not wanting to upset the already distraught girl.
"And how are you doing, Professor?" she asked.
"As well as I can right now," he said with another sad smile. "The pain will lesson eventually. Never thought it would after Harry's parents died and Sirius was sent away and Peter's supposed death. I lost all my friends at once. I just hope I don't lose Sirius again now."
Hermione nodded. "Harry would have hated it if that ever happened," she said painfully, wondering if she would ever get used to talking about Harry in past tense.
Two nights before the Leaving Feast, Fred came to find Ron and Hermione sitting in silence in the otherwise empty common room.
"You guys might want to take a look at this," he said, motioning for them to follow.
He led them out of Hogwarts toward the Great Lake and the Quidditch pitch. As soon as they exited the doors, they saw a huge crowd of students at the lake.
"What's going on?" Hermione asked.
"The Quidditch team set it up. We spread the word that anybody who wanted to could bring a floating candle down to the lake tonight in memory of Harry. We had no idea this many people would come!" Fred explained. "It looks like a lot of the Slytherins even came!"
The crowd saw them approaching and parted a way to let them through. A tearful Angelina handed them each a candle and lit it. When they reached the lake, Hermione burst out into tears. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Hundreds of lights glittered as they floated peacefully along the lake.
Dumbledore passed them, the first in a line of teachers. He placed his own candle in the water with a comforting nod at the two. His candle was the same size and brightness as everyone else's, which in and of itself, was somehow striking. It was as if everyone was meeting at some equal level in remembrance of Harry. The headmaster gave them a meaningful nod of the head before heading back up to the castle.
Next came a solemn Professor McGonagall and a sniffling Hagrid, who was doing everything he could to suppress his mournful wails.
Finally, everyone else had put their candles in the water. There were no announcements or speeches, just everyone watching the little glittering lights and remembering their brave and caring classmate.
"Er…Ron? Hermione?"
The two looked up to see the face they least expected to find in the world. Draco Malfoy stood before them biting his bottom lip. He had just walked up from the castle. His hands were in his pockets and he looked a bit nervous, but also strangely dazed. His eyes didn't quite focus on anything and for the first time, the two saw how much grief Malfoy was in himself. They had heard that his whole family had disowned him. He was apparently going to be staying with his godfather now. All of his friends had turned their back on him after what he had done, or refused to do, during the attack.
The young Slytherin took a deep breath and began to talk, looking interestedly at the ground.
"I, um…I wanted to say that I'm really sorry about Po—um, Harry. I know that we were always fighting and stuff, but I honestly wish that he was still here," he said quietly.
Ron and Hermione nodded, knowing that must have taken a lot to say that.
"Thank you Draco," Hermione said kindly.
The blonde looked over their shoulders at the glittering lights on the lake. "It's such a waste. He seemed like he would have understood," he whispered, more to himself than anyone else.
He seemed to snap out of his dazed state and pulled something out of his pocket. It was a candle. He lit it with his wand and set the candle in the water. With a slight push, he sent it floating along. He gave them a last nod before turning and running back to the castle. They could barely see Professor Snape standing in the doorway, putting an arm over Malfoy's shoulder as he ran up and leading him inside.
Ron and Hermione exchanged a sad glance before turning their backs on the castle. They were the last to step up to the edge of the lake. They both crouched down and set their candles in the water.
"Goodbye Harry," Ron whispered.
"Goodbye Harry," Hermione whispered.
They stood up. Ron put his arm around Hermione's shoulders as she rested her head on his. They joined the school in watching the little lights dance across the water's surface, just remembering Harry Potter.
"How's Draco doing?" Dumbledore asked as Snape stepped into his office.
"Not so well. I was surprised when he said he needed to go to the vigil. It was the first time he's said more than two words to me since it happened, or to anyone for that matter. I don't know what to say to him. What could I possibly say?" he asked with a sigh. "Albus I don't think I'm the right person for taking Draco right now. He needs someone who knows how to comfort people, not me."
"Trust me, Severus, you are the best person to take care of him. You're his godfather after all. It'll do you both good."
Snape was not in the mood to argue that a heartless professor could not possibly be good for a grieving boy, so changed the subject to a slightly more pressing matter.
"Has Lupin got Black to leave Har—er, Potter yet?" he asked. Dumbledore smiled at the slip.
"Yes. He slipped a sleeping potion into his drink and brought him to his chambers for the night. Sirius could do with some rest."
"Did you tell Lupin then?" Snape asked cautiously. He hoped the headmaster hadn't gotten the werewolf's hopes up.
"No, I just told him that Sirius needed his rest and would have to leave Harry's side sometime. Remus is grieving as well. I doubt he even considered an ulterior motive."
"And you got the crystal?"
"Of course. Everything is ready," Dumbledore said calmly. "Poppy is a bit nervous, but she's ready. Just let me go get Harry's body, and we'll get to the Hospital Wing."
The headmaster stepped into his bedroom, a place he had visited rarely in the past few days. He looked sadly at the body of the young boy, looking the same as it had that fateful night.
He gently brushed Harry's hair away from his forehead and gazed sadly at his curse scar that had sentenced him to a life of hardship and an early death. He only hoped the young Gryffindor would get a second chance.
"I'm so sorry, Harry. I wish your burdens could have rested upon my own shoulders. If only it was my job to choose your destiny," he said quietly. "But we're going to try to give you a different fate than this one."
He lifted the limp body into his arms and carried him back into his office where Snape was waiting next to Dumbledore's special door. The headmaster called "Hospital Wing" and Snape opened the door. The two stepped into Madam Pomfrey's office. When the door closed behind them, it disappeared into the wall.
"Albus. Severus. I've got the back room ready," Madam Pomfrey said nervously, eyeing Harry's body sadly. She led them through a hidden door in her office to a small room with a single bed in it. It was normally used for patients that needed to be kept out of view for some reason, whether it be to conceal their identity or their ailment. It was seldom used, but would serve its purpose now.
Dumbledore laid Harry down on the small hospital bed.
"I'm still unsure what you are hoping to do with that potion, Severus," she said as she set out all the necessary potions Snape had asked for.
"It's a bit complicated, but I'll try to explain. You see, a person dies when their life energy is destroyed, but a life energy can only be destroyed in its original body. For Harry's life energy to be destroyed, it would have to have gone back into Harry's body. Also, that's the only way his soul could be released. When the Dark Lord died, Harry's life energy and all that's attached to it should have gone back to Harry's body and been destroyed, since a life energy cannot survive in a dead body. But Albus here, with one of his all-knowing type moves, caught the life energy before it went back into Harry's body."
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at that.
"So Harry's life energy is still alive, but will be destroyed as soon as it goes back into Harry. And his soul is trapped in his dead body, but will be released as soon as his life energy's destroyed. I don't see how that's helpful," said Madam Pomfrey confusedly.
"Well, there's a potion/spell combination that will allow us to channel a little bit of our own life energy into Harry. Not giving the life energy to him, but sharing it while the life energy returns, so that when it does, it won't find a dead body, but a live one and will be able to live, causing Harry to live again," Snape explained.
"Then why haven't we done this already? What's the catch?" she asked, knowing it couldn't be that simple.
"Well, the spell Harry did made the cancer grow so large that it's practically taken over. Not only would it kill him in the same way it did with the Dark Lord, but would also more than likely attach to the life energy being used to support him, killing us as well. And that's assuming that the spell works, since it's been so rarely used before."
"So what makes you think it'll work now?"
"Well, I've been working on a potion to get rid of Harry's cancer for awhile. I could remove it from the life energy, but only by damaging the life energy. But I think I've finally managed to find something that will separate the cancer out, without damaging anything. Of course it's only in theory, since there wasn't a way to test it."
"So really it's quite possible that we could not only kill Harry, but ourselves in doing this if this thing doesn't work. Good," she said, now extremely nervous.
"Well, not quite. I'm going to be the only one of us channeling energy, so you're not at risk, Poppy," Snape said cautiously, watching the headmaster's reaction. He hadn't quite mentioned this part yet. Dumbledore's surprised eyes met his.
"Severus, I won't allow you to do that. I will be the one doing the channeling," he said in an authoritative tone.
"No, Albus. I need you to perform the spell. You're far more powerful than either of us, so it needs to be you if this has a shot of working. And Poppy, we're going to need your medical expertise to watch over this. It has to be me," he insisted.
"But Draco, Severus," Dumbledore protested. Snape put up a hand to stop him.
"I can't help Draco on my own, Albus. The truth is I hardly know him and I can't understand what he's going through. As ironic as it may be, the only person I think might have a chance to get through to him, is Harry. He understands what it's like to be rejected from your family. He knows what it feels like when people turn their back on you," Snape insisted.
"If you can get the two to talk without hexing each other," Madam Pomfrey interjected.
"Both boys have changed, Poppy. Subtly enough not for many not to notice, but drastically enough to perhaps change things," Dumbledore said with his familiar twinkle in his eye. "Through tragedy, they've each discovered themselves a bit, and they aren't as different as they believe."
There was a bit of a pause before Madam Pomfrey clapped her hands once. "All right, then, let's do this. Severus, what do you need us to do?"
Tension filled the room as Snape began giving instructions.
"All right, I'm going to take this blue potion and start the spell that will let us share the life energy. After I start, I'll be basically useless to you until it's done. Before that we're going to inject this green potion into Harry and myself, so that when it returns to the body, if it all works, the cancer will not be able to attach itself to either of us. I'm not sure if Harry's magic will be strong enough to expel the cancer right now, so Albus, that's what that spell I gave you is for. You're going to need to direct it into that crystal and trap it there so we can later destroy it. Everybody clear?" he asked. The other two nodded.
Madam Pomfrey came over and hugged Snape tearfully. Snape stiffened under the unfamiliar embrace.
"Oh Severus, if you get yourself killed, I'll bring you back to life and kill you myself, do you hear?" she said tearfully before backing away.
Dumbledore also pulled the potions master into an embrace. "I love you, my boy. Remember that. Wipe that horrified expression off your face, Severus, I'm being serious," he said with a chuckle before pulling away.
"Oh Merlin, if I knew you all were going to get all sappy on me, I would have never volunteered for this," he muttered, evoking laughter from the medi-witch and the headmaster.
He swallowed the two potions as Madam Pomfrey injected the green one into Harry's arm, casting a quick spell to spread it throughout his bloodstream despite the unmoving blood in his veins.
"Well, this is it. I…er…I guess I'm sort of fond of you two myself," he said very quickly, immediately saying the spell before he could see the grins on the others' faces. He laid his hands flat on Harry's chest. A white glow surrounded the two, concentrating under Snape's palms. Snape's head hung limply as Harry's chest began to rise and fall almost unnoticeably. Aside from that, there were no other signs of life from the boy.
Dumbledore took out small, clear ball that floated just above his hand. Inside, light swirled around, now predominantly red, surrounding the white and gold.
"I hope this works," Dumbledore said quietly as he made the ball disappear without a word, letting the light zoom into Harry's body. A gasp escaped Harry's mouth and his face contorted in pain, still unconscious. Even Snape gave a small moan of pain.
"Acciana Recnac!" Dumbledore bellowed, pointing his wand from Harry's body to the crystal in his other hand.
A beam of red shot from Harry's chest to the crystal, filling the crystal with blood-red light until the line from Harry's body to Dumbledore's hand disappeared.
Snape immediately collapsed to the ground as the white light surrounding the two vanished.
"Oh no, Albus," Madam Pomfrey exclaimed. The two raced toward Harry and Snape.