Harry woke up and everywhere he looked was white. 'Was this how it was supposed to be like when he died?'. Then it hit him, he would never see Ron and Hermione again, never lose a game of chess or have Hermione yell at him for being thick. He wouldn't get to meet Teddy or have another conversation with Remus, or help Tonks choose a hair color. He'd never run away from Alicia or Angelina again as they tried to hex him for a prank, or laugh at the twin's jokes, play against Ginny. He would never get to go on another fly with Katie again or kiss her, or just simply hold her, she'd grow old without him, marry someone else and have kids. Just thinking about it made his heart hurt. Before he could continue his thoughts a voice interrupted him.
"Harry, my boy," he instantly turned around to come face-to-face with Albus Dumbledore. Harry didn't know how to feel. On one hand, all this man wanted to do was end the war but on the other, he raised him to die because of a prophecy that caused his parents to get killed and Sirius to be imprisoned.
"Hello Headmaster, am I dead?" he asked, not really trusting what he had to say.
"No my boy, because of the Horcrux you are able to go back if you want or you can go on that train and move on to your next great adventure" Harry looked over and saw what looked to be the Hogwarts express.
"So, if I wanted to, I can go back," he asked, he couldn't believe this.
"Yes, Harry, if you want to go back you can, and you can finally destroy Voldemort once and for all." he just clenched his jaw, not going back and being with his family but going back to destroy Voldemort.
"Why did you do it?" He suddenly found himself asking.
"Do what my boy?" Dumbledore asked.
"Have me raised the way you did?" he asked, he needed to know.
"It was for the greater good" he didn't know how to respond.
"So I could go back...or I could get on that train and be with my family," Harry asked. To which Dumbledore nodded. Harry inhaled and decided, he knew what he had to do.
"I want to go back" Dumbledore nodded and started to leave. He was going to go back and defeat Voldemort. Not for Dumbledore, but the people he cares about. He was going to go back and grow old with Katie, and watch his godson Teddy grow up. He saw as Dumbledore got farther away and he started to disappear and the white got brighter. He closed his eyes and let whatever happened to happen.
When the white faded he heard Voldemort's voice again. He tried to stay as still as possible, to not give himself away. He heard him ask someone to check him to make sure he was actually dead. Then he heard Mrs. Malfoy step forward and say she would do it. If it was possible he froze even further. As he lay there he heard the footsteps get closer. She bent down above him and put her hand on his neck. She whispered to him asking him if he was alive, and he knew perfectly who 'he' was. He nodded his head and she got up, letting him let out a small breath.
"The boy is dead!" she yelled out and everyone cheered. Voldemort yelled out for someone to pick him up, then he heard Hagrid crying. Next thing he knows Voldemort is yelling for Hagrid to grab him. He felt a pair of big arms grab him. As they were walking back he could feel tears land on him. He felt bad for doing this to Hagrid but knew it was the only way. A short walk later they were heading into the gates of Hogwarts. He didn't want to do this, didn't want to hurt Hermione, Katie, and Ron like this but knew he had to.
Soon they came to a stop. He once again heard Voldemort start shouting about how he killed him, he honestly wanted to scoff but stopped himself. He then heard the doors to the entrance opening, he heard the shuffling of everyone coming out. Then there's this scream of 'No' that happens, was that Professor McGonagall? He thought. Then he heard Katie screaming, which broke his heart more than he thought it would. He then heard the screams of Ron, Hermione, Remus, and Tonks. Just a few more minutes he thought. He heard Voldemort shout for others to join him and be spared, then something that surprised him happened. He heard Neville step forward, and started talking to Voldemort against him. He actually started yelling at him about how he and everyone else would never be dead. Soon he heard him scream out Dumbledor's army, he really should have kept the Defence Association, and the fighting continued. This is it, he thought, this is the moment. He got up and ran pulling on his invisibility cloak. He heard Hagrid start shouting, he sighed, that man never knew how to keep a secret.
He ran for what felt like hours before he finally saw his opening, he took off the invisibility cloak and called out to him. To say everybody was surprised and shocked would be an understatement. It was finally time though he thought. After a long conversation where he revealed everything, it happened so quickly. He saw Voldemort's wand raised with that green curse. He quickly did the same and sent a spell of his own. And just like he said the wand would not hurt him, it rebounded and killed the caster himself.
As he watched the body of the man that took his childhood away fall, it seemed like the world around them finally came back. He heard all the cheers and screaming around him, he finally relaxed and looked around. He felt a body hit him and looked down only to have his face buried in brunette hair. He grabbed her and squeezed her to himself breathing in the familiar scent of vanilla. He heard her crying again and held her tighter.
"I'm not going anywhere anymore, I promise" he whispered into her hair. He looked up and saw the others running to him so he pulled away from Katie so she wouldn't get stuck in the middle. Hermione hit him first with Ron coming up and wrapping his arms around both of them.
"Never scare us like that again Harry," Hermione told him.
"Yeah mate, you almost made 'Moine go mental, well more than she already is" Ron chuckled causing Harry to also while Hermione just huffed and smacked Ron's chest. Next thing he knows he's being pulled into another three-way hug by the twins.
"You know Harrikins, you gave us quite the fright, '' George began.
"My dear brother is right, Harry," Fred said.
"You shouldn't do that again" they both finished before they let him go and ruffled his hair. Next up was Oliver, who looked like he had been crying. He grabbed Harry into a bone-crushing hug like he always does.
"Merlin Wood, why is it always you that has to be the emotional one?" Harry laughed.
"Cause yer' always makin' me proud kiddo, but never do that again" Oliver chuckled.
"You know me, Ollie, can never do things halfway can I? Not as much fun that way." Oliver gave him one last squeeze before pulling away. Harry gulped, as he watched the two other chasers walking his way. Oh Shit, he thought. Alicia was the first to grab him. He felt like she was going to break all of his ribs.
"Harry James Potter, never do something that stupid again do you understand me?" she scolded him, to which he nodded frantically. She pulled back and grabbed his face to look at hers, they were about the same height, "I don't know what I would've done without you little brother" she whispered, causing him to give a small smile.
"I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't made it either, Leesh" he said, calling her, her nickname. She stepped back allowing Angelina to come in and sweep him into her own fierce hug.
"Harry, never scare me like that again, alright? I mean who else am I supposed to chase around and ask to help me prank the twins?" she asked, chuckling. She lifted his face to make him look at her "you may be older now Harry James Potter, but you will always be our cub, you will always be our little brother, and we will always be your family you understand?" she asked. He nodded in return giving her a smile, "yeah, I understand Angie" she nodded and stepped back in time for him to see Remus and Tonks.
Tonks reached him first giving him a tight hug before stepping back and allowing Remus to give him his hug. They stayed there for a minute letting the fact that they were the last of the marauders left. "I'm so glad you're okay Harry" Remus spoke. "I'm glad you're okay, to Moony" Harry whispered into the man's shoulder. They finally pulled away and both wiped a couple of tears from their eyes. Remus stepped back and grabbed Tonk's hand, while Harry stepped back and put his arm around Katie's shoulder while she wrapped hers around his waist.
"We'll be back soon Harry, we just have to go home for a bit to check in with Dora's mother and Teddy then we'll come back" Remus spoke and Harry nodded. As they were walking away Harry took that time to look around. Aurors and Shack were blocking other people from swarming him, he noticed the Weasleys and felt a bit of pain when he noticed the absence of Mr. Weasley. As he was standing there he started to feel the exhaustion take over from the events of the past few hours, the others noticing the change immediately.
"Why don't I go ask Kingsley if he can get you escorted up to Gryffindor tower so you can sleep a bit" Hermione suggested and Harry nodded to her words agreeing immediately. He watched as Hermione talked to Shack. He started adding more of his weight onto Katie and Ron stepped up to help when he shook his head.
"You and the twins go be with your family, they need you more right now" Harry spoke, Ron looked at the twins and they shared a concerned glance.
"You sure mate?" he asked Harry to which he received a simple yes. They nodded their heads and started heading towards their mom, brothers, and sister. Oliver then took over for Ron and stepped up and wrapped Harry's arm around his shoulder to help him stand. They watched as after a couple of minutes Shack walked over with a younger-looking Auror.
"Harry" Kingsley greeted to which Harry greeted in turn. He said some other stuff but Harry was too tired to follow along so just nodded until he heard Katie speak.
"Let's go, Harry, that way you can rest" He just nodded and started walking with the help of Katie and Oliver with Angelina and Alicia following. Hermione also followed them when he spoke up. "Go find Ron and the rest of the Weasley's 'Mione, they need you more right now"
"Alright Harry, but come find me when you're awake alright," she asked, "I will" he gave her a small smile and continued on the way to Gryffindor tower.
It was surprisingly hard to get past everyone but after some help from Professor McGonagall they finally made it through. And after a long walk (since Harry was half asleep) they were finally able to make it. The Auror and Shack stayed outside the door while the group went inside helping Harry up the stairs to what would've been his 7th-year room. Katie and Oliver set him down on the bed and he looked completely out of it. Katie stared at him and shook her head.
"You guys get out of here, I'll meet you down there in a bit, I'm gonna help Harry get undressed first," she told the three, they nodded, and with one last look towards Harry, they left the room and headed down back to the great hall.
Katie once again stared at him and sighed, "Alright Har, let's get you out of some of these clothes" Reaching down she started to unzip his jacket and take it off, leaving him with a sweater and T-shirt, next she reached down and took off his shoes. When she stood back up she saw him taking off his sweater. When he was done he leaned forward and put his head leaning onto her shoulder and sighed. "Come on Har enough stalling you need to sleep, you're exhausted" he just nodded and started getting under the covers. As she was turning to leave she felt something catch her wrist, she looked back and saw Harry staring at her.
"Stay with me" he mumbled looking at her, and her eyes immediately softened and nodded. "Alright, budge over then," she told him as she took off her shoes and got under the covers with him. She immediately felt an arm wrap around her stomach and a head rest right on her shoulder in the crook of her neck. She couldn't help but smile and run her hand through his hair. "I missed this" he whispered "I missed you".
"I missed you to Harry," she told him, "but we'll talk later, just rest now" he didn't respond but soon enough she heard his breathing even out. And before she knew it slept overtook her as well.
Tonks POV
She and Remus had arrived at her mothers who was greatly relieved and overjoyed to see them. They told her everything that had happened and some of the people they had lost. After discussing it they went upstairs to go and see Teddy. They took him to the room they were staying in for the night. Looking at the baby they couldn't be more grateful that they had both made it out alive. That their baby would still have a home and family. Home and family, she thought.
"Love, do you know where Harry is staying now that the war is done?" Tonks asked her husband.
"I'm not sure he owns Grimmauld, but I don't think he would want to stay there, he hated it as much as Sirius, and I don't think he'll go to the Burrow, he'll want to leave them to grieve as a family. He'll probably stay at Hogwarts while he's helping fix it up." Remus spoke thinking out loud as he went.
Tonks bit her lip, "do you want to offer him to stay with us at our home? We have that extra room, plus I think it would be good for him to stay with some family, and you are the last marauder Remus"
"I think you're right, now that it's all over he should learn what being able to live what a family is like, and I know we're not as close as him and Sirius but that was my fault and I would like to change that"
"Alright then, let's get a few hours of sleep then we could head back and ask Harry if he wants to stay with us" They both got into bed on either side of Teddy falling asleep hoping that Harry would say yes.
Harry's POV
Harry ended up waking up when he heard the door open to the room. He quickly reached for his wand in his pocket only to find it not there and started to panic.
"Harry, Harry, Harry it's okay no one is here to hurt you, no one is in danger" he recognized that voice, trying to slow his breathing he looked up to find Katie watching him with a concerned look.
"Katie?" he asked in a quiet voice.
"Yeah, Harry, it's me," she told him, rubbing soothing circles on his back.
"How long was I asleep for," he asked her.
"Only a few hours, I brought you some food from the kitchen," she told him as she handed him the plate and pumpkin juice.
"Thanks," he mumbled as he took the plate of eggs and some toast, trying to eat as much as he could. He was about to say something when he heard a knock on the door.
"Come in!" Katie called out. In walked Remus and Tonks.
"Wotcher Harry" Tonks spoke, smiling at him. She looked over to Katie and smiled "Wotcher, I don't believe we've properly met"
Katie stood up and held out her hand "Katie Bell, I'm this weirdo's girlfriend" she joked.
"Well it's nice to know someone is keeping this one out of trouble, I'm Tonks or Dora now since I'm married," Tonks said shaking the younger girls hand
Remus finally spoke up for the first time since they got there. "Harry we were talking when we went home and we wanted to ask you something" Harry looked at the older man who now seemed to be nervous. Remus seemed to be struggling so Tonks took the lead.
"We were wondering if you would like to come to stay with us," Tonks asked him. Harry froze, the fork midway to his mouth, he looked over to them putting the fork down. He didn't even notice Katie grabbing his plate and retaking her spot right next to him.
"Wait, are you serious," he asked. Without even thinking Remus replied in a straight face,
"No, I'm Remus" the two stared at each other before bursting into laughter. Tonks and Katie stared at their Husband and boyfriend respectively. They hadn't seen them look so carefree in a long time. When they stopped laughing Tonks once more spoke up.
"We are serious Harry, I mean you might have to put up with some crying, but we have an extra room you could use and you can stay for as long as you want," Harry thought about it, it would be nice to finally be able to live somewhere, and it's not like he had anywhere else to go.
He gave the couple a small smile, "yeah, I would really like that" he told them
"Great" Tonks exclaimed, almost jumping up and down. Then Remus spoke up again
"Oh, we brought you a pair of new clothes, we figured you would like to get out of those" Remus told him, handing him the clothes. Harry nodded and looked down at the shirt he was wearing. It was all torn up, he absent-mindedly rubbed his chest when it suddenly hurt. He grabbed the collar of his shirt and looked down when he noticed it, another bloody lightning-shaped scar. He quickly looked up, worrying the three.
"What is it Harry," Katie asked causing him to have a quick response, "nothing Katie,"
"Harry James Potter don't lie to me," she grabbed the collar of his shirt and when she saw it, gave a sharp intake of breath, "let's go, we are going to go see Madam Pomfrey," she told him standing up and dragging him out. The other two shared a look before quickly following the young couple. On their way out, with Harry still being dragged, Oliver, Alicia, and Angelina walked into the common room.
"What's going on?" Angelina asked, "Infirmary now, questions later," Katie said while walking right past them with Harry behind her. The three looked at the Lupin's who shrugged, causing the three to just follow.
After what felt like the quickest walk to the infirmary ever they finally made it. Madam Pomfrey was finishing up with one of the few that didn't go to St. Mungo's when she saw them walk in. They heard her sigh, "just put him in his bed, Ms. Bell" Katie nodded and pushed Harry onto the bed. After a few minutes, Madam Pomfrey walked over, "Now what seems to be the problem this time Mr. Potter" she asked him. Harry played with his hands nervously before pulling at his shirt. He didn't even need to say anything before she started moving. At first, Tonks and Remus froze seeing his scars from the Dragon, the basilisk, the ritual, Umbridge, and now the extra scar from the killing curse. The others were not as affected, they were used to them at this point. Madam Pomfrey came rushing back with some potions which she had to force Harry to drink.
"You Mr. Potter are going to spend the night" she paused as she watched the other younger ones, "you're going to do it again aren't you," she asked them to which they nodded. She sighed as they stepped back and two more beds appeared on each side." you are going to stay here for the night just to make sure it's nothing dangerous, then you are free to go "
"Uh, what does she mean by 'do it again?" Tonks asked, looking at the extra beds.
Harry rubbed the scar on his hand as a nervous habit. "Well you see, they are kind of overprotective"
"Of course we are!" Alicia shouted, "you're always doing something that lands you back in here"
Next thing Tonks and Remus know the quidditch players are getting into the other beds surrounding Harry. They just stared in amazement as Pomfrey didn't try to kick them out. Katie was sharing one with Harry, Alicia on one, and Angelina on the other with Oliver at the foot of Alicia's. And they watched as they all fell asleep in the makeshift bed.
"They've been doing that since his second year," Madam Pomfrey said, walking out and seeing the husband and wife staring at the pile of tangled limbs. "It started after their first game finished and Mr. Potter had to regrow all the bones in his arm. Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger left but they and the twins wouldn't budge and soon pushed the beds together. Everyone knows how close Mr. Potter is with Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley, but no one seems to notice how close those kids are. I'm sure they know more about him than the other two." Remus and Tonks stood there stunned. 'More than Ron and Hermione' they thought 'Impossible'.
They were once again brought out of their thoughts by Poppy.
"Alright you two, you need to leave now so Mr. Potter can get some rest," she told them, shooing them out.
"Alright, but can you tell Harry we'll be back tomorrow to pick him up?" Remus asked. Poppy nodded and closed the door. When they checked the time they noticed it was past 3 am so they decided to head back home and sleep as well, then come back later in the day to bring Harry back to their home. With one last look at the hospital wing towards the hospital wing doors and started their walk back to the headmaster's office to floo back home.