Harry was thankful that Hogwarts was only fifteen minutes away by broom. The cold autumn air surely wasn't good for Romy and the baby, and Hermione was not well at all.

They touched down on the front steps of the castle and found the huge doors firmly shut and locked. Harry tried to fly through and found himself lying on the steps after bouncing back violently. They tried knocking urgently instead. A tiny window opened and a long nose stuck through.

"Hellooooooo? Who iiiiiiiiiiis it?" It was Peeves. Who the hell put him on guard duty? Harry thought, very irritated by now.

"Peeves, it's us. Harry, Romy, and Hermione."

"Harry, Romy, and Hermione who?" They could hear the laughter in Peeves' voice.

"Harry Potter, Romilly MacAran, and Hermione Granger. Peeves, open the damn door!" Harry said through his teeth.

"Fine then, no need to get snippy." The huge doors opened just enough for them to squeeze through.

The poltergeist bobbed in front of them and surveyed Harry with dancing eyes.

"Had a bit of an accident did you, wee Potty?"

"Shove off, Peeves. But first, tell me where Madame Pomfrey is." Hermione needed to see the nurse immediately and it wouldn't hurt to get Romy checked out as well.

"That room off the Great Hall. You know, the one I always caught you snogging Miss Weasley in." Peeves cackled and Harry grinned.

"Thanks Peeves." Harry turned to the girls as Peeves went back to the door. "You know the situation is bad when Peeves is actually behaving himself." He winked and floated through the wall into the little room off the Great Hall. He found Madame Pomfrey dozing by the fire. He called her name until she awoke with a start. She gasped and stood quickly, taking a tentative step forward.

"Mr. Potter," she said breathily. "I've spent what seems like a century patching you up from all manner of injuries over the years, and you've finally come to me with something I can't cure. Oh Merlin, I never thought I'd live to see you like this..." she smiled ruefully, probably thinking of the time she'd grown back all the bones in his arm, or tended his burns that he'd acquired from a dragon, or any number of incidents.

"It's a bit of a shock to me too. But I have someone else here who needs your attention more than I do." He put his head back through the wall and gestured for Hermione to enter. She came through the door with Romy right behind her.

Madame Pomfrey went about her work with as much efficiency as always, though tears shone in her eyes. Soon, the cuts and bruises and burns on Hermione's face and arms were healed and her hair was completely regrown. The old nurse patted her back fondly and sent them into the Great Hall.

The room was filled with cots, but it was still decorated with bats and pumpkins from the Halloween feast. Only Dumbledore would throw a party on the bloodiest night of an already bloody war.

The hall was dark, but light from the full moon reached out from the enchanted ceiling and spilled across the floor. A few corners were lit with candles, where people huddled, talking quietly. Harry saw a glint of red hair in the farthest corner and and made his way around the cots. As he approached, all four heads around the table turned to look at him. Right...hard to sneak up on people when you're lit up like a light bulb. Ginny Weasley stepped into the light, looking thin, drawn, and pale. Dark circles ringed her eyes and her hair was a tangled mess. Oh Ginny, my friend, my first love...look what I've brought you to. Harry's pain at losing Mr. and Mrs. Weasley was doubled as he saw it mirrored back to him in Ginny's face. No matter what he was feeling, he knew that she was worse off than he.

A man he hardly recognized stood up beside Ginny and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Fred..." Harry whispered, shocked at his appearance. He didn't show any indication of his former vitality and exuberance. The ginger head shook almost imperceptibly.

"Fred didn't come through it," he said in the barest whisper.

"Oh my god, George..." Hermione threw herself into his arms and wept on his shoulder. Suddenly, his disheveled appearance made sense. Half of him had died tonight. Harry couldn't even imagine losing someone that close to him. He had to look away as new tears began coursing down George's cheeks. The agony in his eyes was too clear and Harry's heart broke from seeing it. He turned to Ginny, almost afraid to look into her face. If anyone had the right to hate him, it was the Weasley family.

"Gin," he said tentatively. "Ginny, I'm so sorry."

"Sorry for what?" she snapped. "Sorry that you did the right thing five years ago? Sorry that you still have a conscience and a good heart? Sorry that you, a brand new Auror, couldn't stop the most evil and powerful wizard of the past hundred years? I know you, Harry, better than most people. And I know that you blame yourself for all of this. Don't. There was nothing more you could do. You gave everything to try to stop him, even your life. And if that was the best you could do, then he can't be stopped, because no one else could've done better."

Harry almost smiled at her adamant words. "Thank you, Gin," he choked out. She nodded and wrapped her arm around George, who had just broken free from Hermione's embrace. The other two men at the table stood up then to hug Hermione. Bill and Charlie looked haggard, but otherwise unharmed. They nodded sadly at Harry, and his heart eased a little to find his oldest "adopted" brothers alive. He glanced around the room quickly.

"Where's Percy?"

"Still no word." Bill rolled his eyes. "Of course, it won't even occur to him to let us know that he's ok, or to ask after his family's safety. Besides, you remember how he is. He's probably hiding in his flat with all the lights off, hoping no Death Eaters come knocking," he said with a disgusted look on his face. The rift between Percy and the rest of his family had never entirely healed. They didn't hear from him often, and hardly ever saw him. Harry sighed. Even catastrophes like tonight's couldn't bring the remnants of this broken family together.

Just then, the front doors could be heard creaking open and low voices drifted into the hall. Harry craned his neck to see who had arrived, but a clunking set of footsteps identified the newcomers before he saw them. He ran to greet Moody and Tonks as they entered the hall, looking exhausted.

"Mad-Eye! Tonks! We thought you were goners!" Tonks laughed at Harry's greeting.

"You know Mad-Eye, Harry. He's too ornery to die!" Tonks laughed again.

Moody's good eye twinkled a little. "You know Tonks too. She'd be dead if she hadn't tripped over her own feet just as that lousy Lestrange woman aimed a curse at her." Harry laughed this time, loudly enough that several people sat up on their cots and scolded him. Moody smiled a little.

"But we fixed that scum good and made it out with our skins," he continued, and then scanned Harry's body with both eyes. "You should be so lucky, eh Potter?"

"Don't I know it. I – "he began.

"Don't start that guilt rubbish again. You've been beating yourself over the head since Voldemort escaped, and it turns my stomach. A man ought to own up to his mistakes, but he shouldn't take the blame for something not of his doing." Moody glared and Harry came as close as a ghost can to blushing.

"I – "

"That's the last I want to hear on the subject. Now, I need to go find Albus and then get some shut-eye." He nodded to Harry and grabbed Tonks by the arm, leading her away while she rolled her eyes. "I saw that!" he barked over his shoulder.