Snape walked through the halls with Dumbledore after witnessing the destruction of Voldemort's body. Not a single word passed between the old friends.

Snape's hand unconsciously moved to his left arm, to the Dark Mark. Even with the death of the Dark Lord, it remained on his arm. No longer black, but still visible enough that everyone will remember that he used to be a Death-Eater.

"It will never really end for you will it Severus?" Dumbledore said. "The Dark Mark will remain until the day you die, as a reminder."

Snape nodded before covering the mark. "I regret the time it took for me to change sides. Many lives were lost. At least Potter remained alive and defeated Him. It is finally over."

"Yes, the war is over. The repercussions will last a lifetime or two for the families who lost their loved ones. Harry and Hermione may never be the same again, nor the Weasley family. These decisions will last a lifetime for them."

Snape nodded before turning to head down into the dungeons. His mind filled with the events of the day, and the relief that the war was over.

Harry spent his summer with Hermione and her family. They grieved for the death of Ron together. The traveled to the Burrow to witness Ron's burial in the early summer months and stayed there until late June. Then they went to Hermione's home and stayed there till the beginning of their seventh year at Hogwarts.

It was different, sitting in the train car without their redheaded friend to keep their spirits up. Ginny Weasley, the youngest of the Weasley children, looked into the car at the two depressed friends. They sat across from each other, neither smiling. There wasn't much smiling anymore between them. They hardly talked.

The only people on the train unaware of why everyone was so sad were the newest batch of first-years. They were at one end of the train, farthest away from the others. Ginny walked into the train car and sat next to Harry. No one said a word as the train continued on its path.

Finally Ginny spoke. "Ron wouldn't have wanted it this way." Hermione and Harry both looked up at the little redheaded girl and then at each other. Harry nodded.

"You're right Ginny. He would have wanted us to be happy for Voldemort's end, not upset over his death." Hermione nodded at Harry's words before bursting into tears. She fell to the floor between the seats. Harry sat next to her and pulled her into a hug.

"It's okay Hermione. Just let it out," Harry said petting her head. Ginny watched the display and closed her eyes. The pain of her brother's death still ached in her heart, but she knew she had to move on, or end up like the two seventh years crying on the floor.

The train stopped and people began moving out. They were at Hogwarts again.

As Harry exited the train, he looked up at the place he used to think of as his home, now thinking of it as his tomb. He held the crying Hermione close as they headed to the carriages that would take them to the castle.

Ginny sat with her late brother's dearest friends and wondered what Hogwarts was going to be like without all the mayhem and madness created by Voldemort's existence. What would life be like now with Him dead?

Snape sat at the staff table in the Great Hall. The house-elves had worked non-stop over the summer to get it back to its previous glory. It was quite glorious. There was one new addition to the hall, a statue. The statue was of Ron Weasley and it stood behind the staff table in the corner. There was an inscription on it saying:

To those who lost their lives

In the Great Battle of Hogwarts

And to Ronald Weasley of Gryffindor

Who lost his life to save us all

The statue was a life-size Ron on top of a boulder. The boulder held the inscription while Ron stood there, smiling. Harry and Hermione noticed it right away upon entering the Great Hall and taking their seats at Gryffindor table.

Snape looked at the two remaining members of the "Golden Trio" with sadness in his heart. Granted he never liked the Trio, but he admired them and respected them.

He understood how it felt to lose something of such great value as Harry and Hermione had. Once everyone had sat down, the new first-years were shown in and sorted. It seemed different this year, without major rivalries between Gryffindor and Slytherin, but Snape hardly noticed.

Dumbledore stood and gave his welcoming speech. It was filled with hope and praise over what was to come and with the same warnings about the Forbidden Forest. Suddenly he turned to acknowledge the statue.

"This statue is a reminder of what life was once like and to remind us of the good in all of us. It is of great importance to the school and to history. Anyone caught defacing it will be automatically expelled without any hope of returning."

The silence in the room was deafening. No one moved or said anything as the Headmaster took his seat. The twinkle in his eye had returned over the summer and he seemed in greater spirits.

"Let the feast begin,' he said. The food appeared and everyone began to eat and socialize. It was relaxing.

Suddenly a loud yelling noise was heard coming from the foyer outside the Great Hall. Some of the older students recognized the yelling of one of the people as Filch, the wander of Hogwarts halls ready to find unsuspecting students to clean the castle. The second voice was new. It was just as loud, but had a softer tone to it.

Suddenly the doors to the Great Hall opened. The sight standing before them made everyone gasp.