After rereading the whole series again in a week (what was I thinking?), all that was inside my head was Harry Potter and this was the story that came from it.

I've never published before. Always been too scared. So please let me know what you think.

This starts directly after the end of the Battle of Hogwarts.


Harry Potter: The First Summer

by Patrick Adams

Chapter One

Harry Potter awoke the following morning lying in his familiar old bed in his dormitory in Gryffindor Tower. As usual, Harry instantly snapped awake and listened for any sign of any intruders nearby. But then he relaxed when he reminded himself that the war was over, that he had killed Voldemort that very day and that he could finally rest and relax. Thinking about it, this was the first time that Harry had risen peacefully from his sleep. He could remember no terrible nightmare last night, no glimpse into Voldemort's mind, no prickle of the scar when he woke up. He suddenly felt a massive weight being lifted from his shoulder. He really was free. He didn't have to spend the rest of his life worrying about the burden of defeating Voldemort or die trying. He could do anything he wanted. He could actually just hang out and have a good time with Ron and Hermione. When was the last time they had done that? He was free to be with Ginny. No one was going to try and go after her now that Voldemort was dead. In fact, he was free to spend time with all the Weasley's without the guilt of feeling like he was putting them in danger or having to put a number of security measures in place for him. He had to go and thank Mr and Mrs Weasley for looking after him for so long and so well. From day one, they had treated him like another son. He was sure he had said thank you at some point but he knew he really had to go and say something. And everyone else in the house had treated him like a brother from the off. He had a family in that house, wonderful parents in Mr and Mrs Weasley, a brother in Ron, hopefully a girlfriend in Ginny and other brothers in Bill and Charlie and George and Fred…

Suddenly the weight clanged painfully back onto his shoulders again and any happiness he had been feeling was suddenly sucked away. He almost shivered from the sadness although there were no Dementors nearby. Fred Weasley was dead along with so many others. Lupin and Tonks. Colin Creevy. Dobby. Mad Eye. Dumbledore. Snape. Sirius. Even his own owl, Hedwig, hadn't made it to this point with him.

Harry suddenly felt incredibly guilty. Here he was, thinking happily about his freedom and his new life awaiting him and there were all the people that had not managed to make it through the battle. He was thinking about getting back with Ginny when her brother had died just hours ago. She wouldn't want to think about that right now. And Harry couldn't help but think that if they hadn't come here then none of the 50 dead people downstairs would be dead. But then he told himself that they had to be. The only way to defeat Voldemort had been to destroy the Horcrux that had been at Hogwarts. If they had not come, then Voldemort would have got hold of the Diadem and Harry never would have got within reach of it and the most evil wizard of all time would still be at large. What Harry had to do now was to make sure that those 50 people and all the others that had died before had not died in vain. They would be remembered for their heroic sacrifice.

Harry forced himself out of bed. He had no idea how long he had been asleep for. He had been exhausted when he slumped there around midday. He felt slightly better but still tired. It was still light outside so it could not been too late.

He made his way down the stairs into the common room. Apart from a shattered window or two or a scorch mark here or there and a few destroyed tables or chairs, Gryffindor Tower had survived the battle rather well. He found Ron and Hermione sitting in the common room. There were curled up together on the sofa, Hermione's head rested on Ron's shoulders, holding the other one's hand. Harry smiled at the two in spite of his sadness. He was glad that they had finally found each other. At least some good things had come out of this tragedy. He hoped that they would be happy moving forward. They certainly deserved to after everything they had gone through with him.

Harry cleared his throat and the two of them jumped to their feet.

"Harry," said Hermione. "How are you feeling?"

Harry just shrugged. "I dunno,"

"Yeah, I get what you mean," said Ron.

"What time is it?"

"It's nearly five. You've been asleep most of the afternoon," said Hermione.

"Have you two had any sleep?"

"A bit," said Ron. "We've-uh-been sorting out removing Fred's body," Tears fell from Ron's face at this. Hermione instantly tried to comfort him at this but then started crying herself.

Harry just nodded. He didn't need to tell Ron he was sorry. Harry had suffered enough loss to know that the one thing you do not want to hear immediately after the death was that someone was sorry. Harry patted Ron's shoulder to show that he was there for him.

"Owls have been sent out to next of kin to everyone that died in the battle," explained Hermione. "People have been arriving and claiming bodies. Some people have gone home. Some have stayed and helped sort out. Everyone else has gone back to the Burrow but we wanted to wait here. We didn't know what you'd want to do,"

Harry didn't know what he wanted to do. He knew he'd be welcome at the Burrow but he really didn't know whether he wanted to be around them right now as they grieved for Fred. Although he knew none of the Weasleys would say it or even think it, but Harry would spend the whole time there thinking it was his fault.

"I think I might stay and help here," said Harry.

"Whatever you want," said Ron.

"What are they doing with the Death Eater's bodies?"

"They're sending them over to Azkaban and burying them there,"

"And what about-?" Harry had never feared the name Voldemort. And now for some reason, he couldn't say it.

"Nobody knows what to do with it, whether to send it Azkaban with everyone else, bury it somewhere else or destroy it," said Hermione. "I think people are waiting on you to decide,"

"Why me?"

"Bloody hell, because you're the one that killed him," said Ron. "You're the Chosen One. Everyone's looking to you now, mate. You're going to be expected to lead us into the future,"

Lead them into the future? For so long, the future had only ever been Voldemort. Harry had never been able to see past that and now once again, he was faced with a bright future where he could do anything and he had no idea what to do with it. "For now, let's just put everyone to rest,"

The three of them left the Common Room and made their way through the ruined castle. In the light of day, the damage looked worse that ever. Harry's home, his comfort and safety, for so long now looked cold and ruined. It didn't feel like home anymore.

They arrived in the Great Hall. The happy and light victorious feeling that had filled the hall this morning had evaporated, leaving only a mournful and sorrowful atmosphere. Harry's heart skipped a beat at the bodies that lay in the centre of the Great Hall, all covered in white sheets. A lot had been taken away leaving only a handful left.

There were a few families standing around the bodies, peeling back the sheets to look at the cold white faces of their loved ones and bursting into tears. This reminded Harry far too much of the Weasley's gathered around Fred's body.

He was about to turn away when he spotted someone he knew. Andromeda Tonks alone was sobbing over the bodies of Tonks and Lupin. The small glimpse he had caught of the pair when he first saw them was enough. He tried not to look as he made his way over to Andromeda. "Mrs Tonks," said Harry.

She looked up. "Harry," she sobbed and instantly flung herself into Harry's arms and sobbed quietly into his shoulder. Then he caught the horrible glimpse of the two of them, looking as if they could just be sleeping, their hands reached over, almost touching. Even in death, the two could bear to be apart.

Andromeda pulled herself from Harry and said to two undertakers. "Yes, that's them," They merely nodded sympathetically and covered Lupin and Tonks and with their wands, raised their stretchers and lead them out of the halls, Andromeda and Harry watching them go.

"Why?" she said. "First I lose Ted and now I lose them. All I have left is Teddy. Oh, poor Teddy," Harry's heart sunk at the thought of another orphan of war. Harry himself had been that orphan and now Teddy was the orphan of this war. And Harry now realised that he stood in the same position that Sirius had stood in 16 years ago. Harry was not going to make Sirius's mistakes though. He decided that he was going to be there for Teddy.

"I'll help you with Teddy," said Harry. "I want to be there for him,"

"Yes, yes of course. Please, come and visit him and me whenever you like. You're part of the family now, Harry,"

"I think Teddy will be okay," said Harry. "When he's old enough, we can tell him what his mother and father died for, to make a better world for him. And he'll be so proud,"

Andromeda smiled. "Bless you, Harry. Remus and Dora both spoke so highly of you. They have definitely made the right choice in choosing you as Teddy's godfather," Andromeda looked like she was about to start crying again. "I should go. Please, do drop by soon won't you,"

Harry nodded. "I will," She gave Harry a quick hug and then made her way out of the hall.

"Harry," said a familiar voice behind him, although it was not a word that he was used to hearing it say.

He turned to Professor McGonagall. "You know, I think that's the first time you've ever called me by my first name," said Harry.

"I feel after everything we've been through, we've moved past the teacher-student relationship. You should feel lucky. There are very few students who I call by their first name. Even after they have left the school," Her face fell. "Harry, we weren't quite sure what to do with…" She paused. "His body,"

"Burn it," said Harry without hesitation, suddenly feeling very tense. "Destroy it, get rid of any trace of it,"

"Are you alright, Harry?" asked Hermione.

"Fine," said Harry. "I'm-I'm fine," and he wandered off somewhere else in the Great Hall. He didn't want to think about Voldemort right now. He was struggling to understand his emotions as it was right now. He felt both happy and sad right now and he seemed to flipping on a dime between the two extremes. Voldemort was dead and he could finally breathe a sigh of relief about this but it was because of him and his Death Eaters that the Great Hall was full of bodies right now.

He was heading in no particular direction but then he spotted a familiar face. "Neville," called Harry.

Neville was comforting a family about their loss when he turned to Harry. "Harry. I wasn't sure whether you were still here. How are you doing?"

"I dunno really," said Harry honestly.

"Yeah. I'm the same,"

"I never got a chance to say, well done on killing the snake,"

"It was nothing,"

"No, it was really something. If it wasn't for you, then he wouldn't be dead right now. And you pulled the Sword of Gryffindor out of the hat. Means you showed true courage in that moment, the heart of a true Gryffindor,"

"Thanks Harry,"

"I'm surprised you were still here. Haven't most people that fought in the battle gone home?"

"Oh, I wanted to stay and help for a bit. Gran for was all for it. We've been helping the family that are coming to get the bodies. We're going home tonight but then we're going to be back tomorrow and start helping with the rebuilding,"

"They're going to start rebuilding tomorrow?" asked Harry, surprised at the efficiency.

"Yeah. Well, they want to get going straight away because with all the dark magic that was used, they don't know how long it's going to take to put the school back together. They want to make sure the school's ready again for September,"

Professor Sprout made their way over to them. "Longbottom, I just wanted to say thank you for all your help with putting together the list. Your help was invaluable. If term hadn't been cut short, I'd give you 100 points for Gryffindor,"

"Thanks Professor," said Neville. "Well, I should probably go and find my Gran. See you later Harry, Professor,"

Neville left but Harry quickly caught Professor Sprout's shoulder before she could leave. "What list was that Professor?"

"Oh the list of the fallen," she said, pulling a piece of parchment out of her robes and handing it to Harry. "53 in all. The poor dears but they'll never be forgotten,"

Harry only knew of a few of the deaths. He quickly tore across every single name, desperate for any information, looking for any that he recognised. He recognised several names, Remus Lupin, Nymphodora Tonks, Fred Weasley, Lavender Brown, Colin Creevey. Glancing at the other names, Harry saw some names of students or Order of the Phoenix members that he vaguely knew but had never really spoken to. He might see a name of someone from Hogsmaede that he saw on the school trip to the village but apart from that, Harry didn't recognise many of the names. He breathed a sigh of relief. No one else he knew had died. But then Harry instantly felt guilty as he stared down the list of names of people that died fighting Voldemort, died fighting and holding the line for Harry to do what needed to be done. Harry barely knew who these people were and yet they had all died for him. Harry didn't know if he felt better or worse for this. He needed to get out.

Harry numbly wandered out the hall and out into the grounds. Seeing the destruction of the castle from the outside was almost worse than seeing it from the inside. Looking up the majestic castle, now ruined almost made Harry cry.

He didn't know how long he had been wandering around for when Ron and Hermione came and found him. "Harry, they're about to burn Voldemort's body and thought you might like to be there,"

Harry didn't say anything. Did he want to be there? "Harry," asked Hermione again.

"Look, mate, I now it's not the most thrilling thing in the world but I think you should see it. Just to put your mind at rest that he really is gone,"

"But I know he's really gone," muttered Harry.

"Yeah, but there's still that doubt. I can tell, Harry. You don't want to believe it,"

Now that Ron had said it, Harry could see that it was true. He wanted Voldemort to be dead but after hoping for so long, he refused to cling to that hope, in case it was destroyed like every other shred of hope Harry had clung to over the last three years.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, okay,"

He followed Ron and Hermione to the front of the school where a small pyre of wood had been built. Voldemort's body, wrapped in a white sheet lay among the wood.

Professor McGonagall, Kingsley, Ginny, Neville and Luna were also there. But no one else. "We didn't think you'd want a big audience," muttered Ron. Harry was grateful for that and especially grateful to now be reunited in peace with his closest friends. But the sight of Ginny instantly seemed to double Harry's feelings of guilt as his thoughts dwelled to her dead brother.

Ginny strode out and hugged Harry quickly. Her hair didn't seem to smell quite as fragrant as it once did. She looked tired and pale, her eyes puffy and bloodshot from crying so much.

"How are you doing?" she asked.

Harry just shrugged. "You?"

A few tears leaked from Ginny's eyes. "Okay," she whispered. "I wanted to wait for Ron and Hermione for when you woke up but mum wouldn't let me. After what nearly happened with Bellatrix, I think she's afraid to let me out of my sight and you know with Fr-" She stopped at that. She couldn't even say his name. "Ron and Hermione sent me an owl and explained what was happening with this, I wanted to be with you,"

Harry hugged her again. "You don't need to worry about me. You go and spend time with your family,"

"That includes you," said Ginny.

Harry smiled and hugged her again. "Thank you," he whispered into her ear.

"We thought you might want to light the pyre," said Kingsley. "It is traditional,"

Harry raised his wand but just as quickly lowered it and instantly ran to the pyre and climbed up onto it. He had to be sure.

"Harry, what are you doing?" asked Hermione.

Harry didn't answer and instantly pulled the sheet and looked down into Tom Riddle's glassy lifeless eyes one last time, the eyes that had haunted his dreams for the last 16 years. Harry clenched his fist. He so wanted to punch, hit, kick, cause harm to every part that he could reach. Dumbledore had spoken of how Harry's strength was love but right now, all he could feel was seething hatred for the body that lay in front of him, for everyone that Voldemort took from him, for the pain he caused him, for the childhood that he stole from Harry.

"Harry, come on," said Ginny at the foot of the pyre. Harry wrapped the body up again and hopped down walking with Ginny back to the others.

"Do I have to say a speech?" asked Harry.

"That's up to you. You can say something should you wish, or I could, or we could simply have a moment of silence. It is your choice," said Kingsley.

Harry thought for a moment. "This is for everyone that fell in the battle to defeat Voldemort and to all those that they left behind. For all those that fell in the Battle of Hogwarts, for Remus Lupin, Nymphodora Tonks, Fred Weasley, Dobby, Alastor Moody, Hedwig, Albus Dumbleore, Sirius Black, Cedric Diggory, and for Severus Snape, who was truly the bravest man I ever knew. But most of all, for James and Lily Potter, who proved that love is the most powerful form of magic,"

Harry raised his wand toward the pyre but found it shook so much. Ginny's hand was on his, then Hermione's, then Ron's and Neville's and Luna's. The six friends stood as one as fire shot from the wand and lit the pyre engulfing the wood and the body, removing Tom Riddle's body from this Earth forever.

Harry didn't know how to feel. Should he be immensely happy right now, celebrating and shouting that his mortal nemesis had finally been vanquished? Should he be sad and mourning all those lives who had been lost? Harry didn't know. All he felt right now was nothing. Not happiness or sadness, just a hollow emptiness. His friends stood closely around him, Ginny holding one hand and resting her head on his arm, Hermione holding his other, Neville and Ron's hands on his shoulder and Luna rubbing his arm. All of his friends showing their support for him. Harry felt his love for all five of them, being there and supporting him through this time. He loved all of them and didn't want to let any of them go. While guilt clawed at his heart, he also felt grateful that these people were not taken from him because Harry did not think he would be able to stand it if any were.

He didn't know how long they stood there as the pyre slowly burnt away to nothing and the sky turned dark above them. No one said anything and no one moved until Professor McGonagall waved her wand and the few remaining ashes were swept away in the wind leaving no evidence of what had stood there.

"What are each of your plans tonight?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"Well, I must get back to the Ministry," said Kingsley. "There is much to sort out. I bid you all good night," He strode away.

"I think we're all going to get back to the Burrow," said Ron.

"Yes, of course," said Professor McGonagall, sympathetically. "Mr Longbottom, Miss Lovegood?"

"I must go home. I need to be there for Daddy right now after he just got out of Azkaban,"

"Gran and I will be going in a bit but we'll be back tomorrow,"

"Very well," said Professor McGonagall.

"I think I'd like to stay and help where I can," said Harry.

"No you don't," said Ginny. "Mum would never forgive us if we left you here,"

"Come on mate. Just get out of Hogwarts for a little bit," said Ron.

"But I want to stay and help with the rebuilding,"

"Potter, the rebuilding won't start until tomorrow," said Professor McGonagall. "Mr Weasley is right. Get out of Hogwarts for a little bit. Get a good night's sleep and you can come back to Hogwarts tomorrow,"

Harry truthfully wanted to be nowhere near the Weasley's right now. He knew it was selfish to not want to see them while they were grieving. They needed him right now to help grieve but right now, Harry could barely look at Ron or Ginny without feeling the guilt associated with their deceased brother. Being in a house full of Weasley's would only increase his feelings of guilty by ten but also would only highlight that one of them was missing. But he knew that none of them was going to let him stay at Hogwarts alone. Ron, Hermione and Ginny would no doubt not leave him and Harry knew that what they needed right now was to be with their families. Harry reluctantly nodded and agreed.