Hi,

I know that I haven't been updating as frequently, and I'm sorry. My inspiration is suffering at the moment but it will come back and even though I don't write much, I still write a bit. I'll publish every time I have one chapter ahead finished.

Here, you have the aftermath of the Battle of Diagon Alley, Remember who died there.

I hope you still like it and that you'll keep on reviewing. Reviews give me strength to write more.

Lorelei Candice Black

The next day felt strange to Harry and Rose.

After such a fight, after having seen two of their Gryffindor friends die in battle, they almost expected the world to be different. It felt like an insult that the sun was shining. Shouldn't there be rain, and thunder to match their mood? Shouldn't the birds stop singing, the clocks stop ticking? Why was the world still spinning after such a tragedy?

The night had been hard. They had waited for news, reports, for anyone that could give them news, almost hoping for someone to come and say that it hadn't really happened, that they had dreamt it all and that the Creevey brothers were alright, at home and getting ready to go back to school. McGonagall had come by the house after her long talk with Mister and Misses Creevey.

They had been her students and she didn't want to be alone right away and since she knew that Sirius and the twins were waiting on news, she had come by to tell them how the meeting with the Creevey had gone.

The parents had guessed that something was wrong with their children the moment they saw and recognized Professor McGonagall. They had been devastated of course, having lost their only children in a battle against a terrorist they had no power against was something nobody could prepare for. They had been prepared to have their sons distance themselves from them eventually, once they were adults, working and living fully in the wizarding world, but not dead, and not so soon.

Fudge had come to meet the parents in person as well when McGonagall was still present, saying that, even though it was no consolation to them, their sons would get an Order of Merlin, post mortem, for their bravery in the face of danger, in a battle they didn't hav to fight.

Minerva didn't leave until about 3am, knowing she'd have to go and give her devastating report to Dumbledore in person eventually.

After that, both Rose and Harry had nightmares, reliving the horror of the fight.

They had been awake and up soon after the sun rose, unable to sleep any more than a couple of hours. Sirius was already up, he probably hadn't gone to sleep at all, and Kreacher had a great breakfast ready for them, trying to make them feel better, to give them the energy the lack of sleep prevented them from getting.

When the mail arrived, Rose smiled sadly when she saw that Fred had sent her a little note to lift her spirit, telling her he'd visit her that evening, along with one of his roses.

When the newspaper arrived, Colin and Dennis Creevey's picture was on the front page, the words "FALLEN HEROES" on top of it. There was also a picture of the devastation that was Diagon Alley after the fight, and in the background you could see the Healer taking care of Draco on a half broken chair, in front of Florent Fortescue's broken ice cream shop.

There was a picture of a store, door closed and several people behind the window and the word 'cowards' on top of it.

How did they even manage to take this picture? Harry hadn't seen anybody with a camera during the fight, so it must have been someone who came along with the reinforcements. Someone who had preferred to snap a few good pictures rather than to help stop bad guys.

Sirius read the articles out loud for them all.

The retelling of the battle was pretty faithful to the facts. It accentuated the fact that Draco Malfoy had been injured while facing his father, fighting against him. A journalist had come to him, asking if they were allowed to name him and his actions or if he wanted to keep it hidden but he declared that he had nothing to hide, that he wasn't scared anymore and that they could write everything he had done. The names of the people who stayed to fight were listed, along with their injuries.

Florent Fortescue had been cut too, and his leg was broken but the article said that he'd be fine and declared himself that he'd open back up his ice cream shop as soon as possible.

A large portion of the article spoke of the Creevey brother's act of bravery, wondering how two Hogwarts muggle born students who weren't even adults yet could have been braver than most adults around them. Of course they also praised Harry, Rose and Draco for staying when they could have left and hidden themselves, but the Creevey were presented as heroes, victims of the war that shouldn't have been. There was a direct quote from Fudge saying they'd get a Post Mortem Order of Merlin second class, first even, if he could help it.

"I want to write to their parents." Harry said in a small voice once Sirius was done reading.

"Of course, Harry. We'll even attend the funeral if you want." Sirius approved and Harry nodded.

He wanted to be there and he was planning on writing to everyone he knew in Gryffidnor house to make sure a lot of students would get to come and say goodbye to them. He wanted their parents to know that their boys were loved, he felt it was important and Sirius nodded, thinking of asking as many Order members as possible to come as extra protection. Kreacher even offered to help them deliver the letters to their friends once they knew of the funeral date.

Colin and Dennis' parents replied quickly to Harry, with the date of the funeral. They knew who he was of course, their sons had talked plenty about the Boy Who Lived and they were touched by his gesture. They didn't have a big family, most of them being far away, and there wouldn't be many people present, so of course he was welcome if he and a few friends wanted to come and say goodbye. The had told heir family that their son had been killed in a car accident.

Harry and Rose had already worked on letters and a list of students to send them to with the help of Luna, Draco, Ginny and Ron. Soon, the letters were being sent with Serenity, Hedwige, Pig, Draco's owl and of course Kreacher. The letters were all the same and there wouldn't be time to answer, so it just stated the date of the funeral, the address, and the fact that their presence to show the Creevey's that their sons were loved would be welcome. No parents should suffer loosing their children, and they shouldn't be alone to say goodbye.

When they day of the funeral arrived, Fred and George closed Weasley Wizard Wheezes for the occasion and they went to the funeral, along with Harry, Rose, Ron, Ginny, Draco, Luna, Neville, Sirius and Remus. They arrived early and Harry was sad to see that very few members of the boys' family were there. Just their parents, a neighbour and a set of grandparents, half asleep in their chairs.

Mister and Misses Weasley were present as well, with Bill. Charlie wanted to come but he had to work. Someone had to keep an eye on the Dragons of Azkaban.

Professor McGonagall joined them, along with professor Dumbledore a few minutes before the funeral started and they were surprised to see about 2 third of Gryffindor house arriving, along with a few students from other houses that were in Colin and Dennis year. Hermione came as well, driven by her cousin who went shopping while Hermione was at the funeral.

Professor Flitwick was present, along with a few other teachers. Hagrid was present as well, hard to miss but still trying to hide in the back, among the large crowd. He didn't want to draw the attention to himself, especially not on a day like this.

Of course Mister and Misses Creevey were touched, happy to see so many people present to say goodbye to their beloved sons.

The Minister of Magic hadn't been able to free his schedule to be present but he had given Dumbledore the Order of Merlin the boys had earned and so the Headmaster gave it to the grieving parents.

The funeral was short but very sad and it broke Harry's heart to see Misses Creevey break down when the boys were put in the ground, only held up by her crying husband. It only strengthened his determination to stop Voldemort and the other Death Eaters. He hoped that Voldemort learned of how many people came to the funeral and that it would show the Dark Lord that he'd lose, that the more time passed, the more people would stand against him.

Draco felt a bit out of place at first, he didn't personally know the boys but he admired the courage they had shown. Looking at the students who had come, he was surprised to see the Greengrass sisters, along with about a dozen other slytherin students. Daphne was speaking to a Ravenclaw he didn't know the name of.

"I'm surprised to see other Slytherins here today." He whispered to the younger sister, Astoria, to start a conversation.

"You're not the only one who cares. A few other wanted to come but their parents prevented it, afraid of the consequences it would have had because, you know, the Dark Lord and everything." Astoria replied in a small voice.

"I know, I understand. Did you know them?" He asked.

"I did. We worked together sometimes, you know homework and all. Mainly in Rose's homework help thing in the room of requirement. Colin helped me, I helped Dennis..." She replied, fighting back the tears.

"It's going to be okay." Draco told her as he hugged her to his side, uncomfortable seeing her tears.

"Really? You really think the Dark Lord, your father... All of them, you think they'll lose?" Astoria asked Draco.

She looked so fragile, so sad, that he took her in his arms to comfort her. Draco had never been too close to Astoria. He sometimes hung out with Daphne, but nothing more. Yet he wanted to protect her, to make her feel better.

"I do. Harry Potter, Rose, Black, Dumbledore... They'll win. I don't know how or when, but they will." he promised her.

"You too?" She asked him.

"I won't stop until my father and his friends have paid for everything they did." Draco promised and she smiled a little through the tears.

.

Seeing so many students from his school attend the Creevey brothers funeral, Albus Dumbledore couldn't help but feel hopeful for the future. He did spot a journalist present, and he could already imagine the next day's paper speaking about the high number of people present, along with a picture of the crowd.

Rose spent most of the time with Remus or Fred, she knew her brother didn't need her and she needed their support. Harry was with Ginny and Sirius and she knew that he was comforting Ginny as much as she was comforting him. Colin and Ginny were good friends after all.

Ron had ended up sitting between Lavender Brown and Dean Thomas and, at some point, he didn't know how it happened, Lavender ended up crying in his arms. He panicked a little at first, not sure what he was supposed to do, but he still hugged her, trying to mirror the way Harry and Fred were acting with Rose and Ginny.

Once the ceremony was over, Mister Creevey went to see Harry and thanked him for being present, and for having brought so many people with him to say goodbye to his sons.

"If there's anything I can do..." Harry replied, shaking his head.

"You did more than we could hope for. Thank you for coming." he smiled painfully before he took something out of his pocket and handed it to Harry.

"What is it?" Harry asked in a small voice, it was a thin square package, light and rigid.

"A frame picture of you with the two of them. Magically developed. Colin had it in his bedroom, we thought, my wife and I, that you should have it." Mister Creevey told the boy who smiled.

Then, the grieving father surprised Harry with a quick hug and went to speak with Professor McGonagall.

"I overheard Misses Creevey speaking with Professor Dumbledore. They want to donate to the school all of Colin and Dennis school supplies, for poor students. The books, the uniforms, wands, cauldron... Everything." Hermione told Harry and Rose.

"It's understandable, they won't have any use for it now... It's still generous of them, they could have burned them." Rose replied.

"I should have done more... I need to learn more spells." Harry simply replied.

Harry didn't feel guilty about their death anymore, but he was still furious and he wanted to learn more defensive spells, more attack spells. He wanted to be better. He was still holding tightly the framed picture, decided to place it on his nightstand at home and to take it with him to school.

"I have to go, Barbara, my cousin, she's waiting for me... I'll see you guys soon." Hermione declared before she hugged her friends and left.

Hermione had just walked away when Professor Dumbledore came closer to them.

"Harry, Rose, I know it's not the best time, but I'd like for the two of you to come for private lessons with me this year. I know that you're angry, and I want to help you be better prepared for what's to come." Dumbledore spoke.

"Of course, professor." Rose agreed while Harry nodded, his eyes on the old man's black hand.

"Professor, what happened to you hand?" Harry asked and Albus forced a smile on his face.

"That is just the result of an unexpected adventure. It's quite a tale and I don't have the time to do it justice today." he smiled, brushing it off.

He wasn't ready for Harry and Rose to know the truth of what happened to him yet, but maybe he'd tell them later. They deserved to know, didn't they?

After this small talk, Albus said his goodbyes and left, taking with him the two chests full of Colin and Dennis school supplies that the family had donated for poor students. Today, no matter how much he liked to pretend that he was still young, he felt old.

This shouldn't have happened, he had failed to prevent it from happening. Yet, he had hope in his heart because, looking around him at the people who had attended the funeral and who were leaving, he didn't only see the boys friends, there was students from all houses, all years... Harry, Rose and their friends had managed to rally a large number of people for the funeral and he knew that it had helped the grieving parents.

Yes, all hope wasn't gone.

They'd win.

People could stand up, and they would.

.

When she got home, Hermione found a letter from Charlie Weasley waiting for her on her desk, his owl waiting patiently on a little spot she had cleared just for him. She had bought snacks just for Charlie's owl and the bird was super happy to find it waiting for him every time he came.

"Hermione,

I hope that my letter will find you well. I wish I could be at the funeral to help you through it, unfortunately, I have to work. Such is the life of a superviser. How are you doing, really? You've never written to me about them, but they were in your house and since you're a prefect... Did you know them well?

Anyway, to answer your previous letter, I do like to read. Where I live, I'm lucky enough that we get muggle Television, so I occupy a bit of my time with that as well, though I'm having a hard time adjusting to it. It does help me understand muggles better though. Allows me to get to know part of your world. Don't mention that in front of my family though, I don't want my father to end up spending all of his time in my flat. My mom would have to follow him there and of course my siblings would follow. I love them all, but I do need my space.

I do read books by muggle authors, though at the moment I'm waiting to read Remus' book, it's scheduled, as you know, to come out soon. I think I know you enough to knwo that you've already ordered a copy as well. I haven't ordered mine, I'm planning on going to my brother's shop and wait in line to get it, get the full experience, you know? I can easily imagine you frowning at all the times you'll read that they broke the school's rules.

Muggles have great book sagas involving dragons. They don't get everything right, but it's still nice to read. When they get something wrong, I just change it in my head or ignore it.

And to answer your other question, no, I don't go out much. The night we met in that club was not something that happens often. I'm not exactly what you can call a "party animal". I'm fine on my own until I meet the right person. I'm in no hurry, I can wait a few years.

It's quite fun when Hagrid visits at work. Norberta recognizes him, you know? She never gets angry with him. I've never seen this kind of bond before. He truly has a gift.

Anyway I hope the Creevey brother's funeral wasn't too hard for you. I wish I could have been there for you, but I guess i'll see you some other time.

Take care,

Charlie"

Hermione smiled when she read the letter. Was it wrong of her to hope he was speaking about her when he wrote that he'd was ready to wait until he met the right person? Would he wait until she was ready for her? He did state that he wanted to be there for her during the funeral but she was kind of glad that he hadn't been there. If he had been, everyone would have known about their relationship, and even if this was only friendship, she wanted to keep it secret. She wanted it to stay her own little secret for at least a little while.

Still smiling, she took some parchment out of her desk and she started writing her reply.

"Charlie,

I wasn't very close to the Creevey brothers, but I did know them. they were often hanging out around us, because they adored Harry. Their father gave Harry a picture Colin had of Harry with the two of them. It moved him to know that he had it.

The funeral was very hard on everyone, and there was a lot of people. I think at least half of Hogward's student and staff was present, and that's a good thing because the Creevey were alone with 3 other people. You'll probably ready something about it in the Daily Prophet tomorrow, I saw a reporter. Surprisingly, there was even a few Slytherin students. It gave me hope that things could change.

Your presence would have been nice, but I don't think I'm ready for everyone to know about our friendship. I'd have to tell them how we met and I don't want Harry and Ron to know this side of me yet. Which is why you have nothing to worry, I won't tell your father that you have a television.

Of course I've already ordered Remus's book. I'm planning on staying awake all night to read it if I have to. I can't wait to finish it. I hope this book doesn't give Harry or Ron any ideas, they need to remember that they have responsibilities!

You read muggle books? Which one is your favorite?

Anyway, I don't have time to write a long letter today, my cousin is leaving town and I probably won't be able to see her until next summer, I should hang out with her a bit more.

I hope to hear from you soon,

Take care,

Hermione."

She quickly closed her letter and gave it to the owl. There wasn't any obvious flirting, but it was there, small hints all over their letters ever since the first one. Was it wrong of her to hope for more some day? Could he be the one?

Shaking the thoughts out of her head, she left her bedroom and went downstairs to join her cousin and her parents in one last game before Barbara left.

I'm sorry if you didn't like it.

Review please?

Lorelei Candice Black