This story picks up right after the battle and is a continuation of the story. there are a few deaths in the books that I would like to address during the final battle and bring them back to life. the people are as follows. Fred Weasley, as well as Tonks and Remus Lupin. I respect Jk Rowling emencely and her work however they simply just did not deserve to die. I do not own anything just the story.
The battle was over Voldemort was dead and all of his death eaters had dissapparated in fear. Harry decided instead of walking back to the great Hall he would Apparate as the protective spells had been broken due to the battle. He was tired so it took all the concentration he had left to get himself there without splinching. He was sacred of what awaited him in fact he admitted to himself that he was more scared now than he was walking to what he thought was his death in the forbidden forest. Despite his exhaustion he was surprised that he appeared in the door way, and again to his surprise he saw everyone turn around to look at him. He scanned the crowd for a quick inventory of who was there a bit of the dread he was feeling to see everyone had diminished when he saw that there was no significant loss of life though he still felt personally responsible for all who did die. He was then wrenched away from his thoughts as Ginny came running up to him.
Once she reached him she threw her arms around his neck and pulled his head down to hers and kissed him in a way she had never kissed him before. Once realization came to Harry he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her closer to him. He then picked her up and pushed her back against the door frame losing all sence of reality. It was only once several people started to laugh and clear their throats did they remember that they where not alone. Harry set Ginny down gently then stepped back and shot an apologetic glance at Mrs. Weasley who just nodded in recognition.
Professor McGonagall had summoned the Hogwarts speech podium and was standing behind it. She then cast a megaphone charm on her throat and began to speak.
"Well now that Mr.Potter has un-handed Miss.Weasley there are a few remarks I would like to make." With that everyone shared a much needed laugh at Harry's expense. Though he did not mind he did however turn Gryffindor red. "Now the first order of business is to address plans for the next 24 hours. Kingsley Shacklebolt has now been voted in as minister for magic by what remains of the high wizards counsel. He has helped me to formulate the plan of action. You all must remain at Hogwarts for the next day so you can get the rest you need and see a team of St.Munglos healers that are on route as we speak." There was much grumbling as soon as she said that however she continued.
"Now I know that you are all anxious to get home however no one in this room is in any fit state to travel. You are welcome to summon and set up temporary beds wherever you find a safe area of the castle to do so. However the dungeons and the Slytheryn dormitory are off limits as we are not able to trust their safety. Please stay with a partner as well in case of retaliation by the remaining death eaters however I do not think that is likely to happen today. If you volunteered to fight in the war and are not a part of either the Order of the Phoenix or Dumbledore's army you must report to a healer for triage upon their arrival. if you are part of either of those groups the choice is yours to make as you are able to remedy most things on your own. As you noticed by Mr.Potter's demonstration we are now able to apparate within the walls of Hogwarts so in case of an emergency our meeting place is the library so apparate there promptly. The healers will be setting up in the library in about one hour so I recommend that you use this time to find a place to sleep and set up for the night before heading off to get looked at. The house elves will be serving dinner back here in approximately 4 hours after they have had a chance to clear up and prepare the food. You are all required to attend I will send them to wake you if you happen to fall asleep. You may go now however please exercise caution when traveling around the castle. See you all in 4 hours." With that she removed the charm and hastened off toward the library to receive the medical team.
Everyone then started to leave the great Hall some in pairs others in groups off to find a place to set up camp. Harry was still feeling oddly like this moment was not happening like he had not actually killed Voldemort. It felt strange to not have to worry for the time being it felt like a weight had been lifted only to feel the weight of another situation the guilt for all who lost their lives. Though he had to remind himself that they had all volunteered to be there. The Weasleys Harry and Hermione met in the middle of the great Hall without really putting much thought as to what they where doing. They all shared hugs and Mrs.Weasly exclaimed how skinny Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny had become. Arthur was the first to speak.
"Okay everyone I had a word with Minerva and she agreed to put a charm on the Gryffindor tower so no one else could use it besides the Order of the Phoenix and us. So we can have a safe meeting spot to discuss what is next tomorrow. She has also agreed to let us all stay for a week in Gryffindor tower so we do not rush any decisions and get hurt as a result as we have to assume we are all high profile targets for the remainder of Voldemort's following. This way we can also repair our homes before we leave. Everyone else is already aware of this plan. The thing is that the only way we can get there is to apparate as the staircase is disintegrated. Does everyone feel strong enough to?" He finished with a question.
Everyone nodded and with that they all set off toward the Gryffindor common room. Once they where there Mrs.Weasly was the next to speak. "Okay everyone is here that's good. Room assignments are as follows. Ginny and Hermione in the seventh year girls dormitory. Harry and Ron in the sixth year girls." With that Ginny stopped her with an angry outburst.
"Mom Ron is with Hermione and I am with Harry. We will both be sharing a room with our respective partners. I think anyone else would think that after the events of the past year that we have all had to grow up rather quickly Harry and I deserve to be together tonight as do Ron and Hermione." She finished.
At that point every member of the order was starting at her including Kingsley the new minister for magic. Molly spoke again. "Might I remind you that you are not yet of age Ginerva." Kingsley then interrupted her.
"Actually Molly I have made an executive decision as minister for magic to grant Ginny automatic age of maturity and have already removed her trace. So she is now a legal adult on the grounds of mental maturity beyond her years. I am sorry Molly." He finished.
Molly looked at him for a moment lost in thought she realized that what he had said and done did make sense and her daughter was right neither her nor Ron where children anymore in fact she realized that they hadn't been for a while now. Resolving to be more open minded she spoke again.
"Ginny I am so sorry you are right it will just take me some getting used to the fact that none of you lot need my help anymore. You all have grown up so fast it is sometimes hard for me to look at you and not see the kids that I put on the Hogwarts express for the first time. Yes this includes you Harry and Hermione I have always thought of you as my children. I am glad that the 4 of you have each other I know that I would be lost without Arthur. Disregard the room assignments sleep where ever you like." She said in a bitter sweet tone.
"Before everyone disperses I would like to ask that we have a meeting after dinner this evening right here in the common room." Said Kingsley.
With that everyone went their separate ways to take care of each other and spent time together. Harry and Ginny went to the seventh year girls dorm along with Ron and Hermione as there where 2 rooms for each year. Ron and Hermione took the first room in the hallway and Harry and Ginny continued to the end of the hall. Once Ron had closed the door he went to the bed that Hermione had already laid down on and climbed in beside her pulling her close and they both went to sleep instantly. It was a different story next door as Harry was bleeding quite a lot after falling from the sky while fighting Voldemort. Ginny took charge of the situation once she had closed the door.
"Take off your shoes, socks, shirt and pants and lay on that bed right there." She said pointing to the bed closest to the door.
Harry looked at her questioningly. "Why?" He then asked.
"What do you mean why. you are covered in blood and I need to see where it is coming from and patch you up." She stated as though it was glaringly obvious. Much to the dismay of Harry.
"Gin I am so tired can't we just sleep for an hour or so first?" He asked.
She responded sounding incredibly like Mrs.Weasly when she is frustrated by something that Fred and George had done. "Harry the way I look at it is that you have two options you either let me fix you up or I will apparate us both to the library right now so you can see the healers which will take far longer. So what will it be?" She asked half scolding him like an Ill behaved child.
He then did as she told him to after he had laid down she made quick work of mending his wounds and much to his satisfaction she had cast a cleaning spell on his clothes. He then got dressed and gave her a taste of her own medicine insisting that she let him mend her wounds. She did not protest as she realized that it would do her no good. After she got dressed again they climbed into the next bed and passed out in each others arms.
Two hours later Hermione had thought that she heard Mrs.Weasly trying to wake them however she thought that her ears where playing tricks on her. It was not until she felt a hand on her shoulder did she startle awake. pulling out her wand and pointing it in the direction of the hand all in one swift motion. This caused Molly to leap back and put her hands up. Ron woke by the motion and fell out of the bed. Hermione's face then filled with apologies.
"Mrs.Weasly I am so sorry!" She exclaimed. Mrs.Weasly looked at her for a second then ran to her and wrapped her in one of her famous done crushing hugs.
"I am sorry for startling you. What the three of you must have gone through. I just came to wake you for dinner." She responded. They hugged a bit longer till she spoke again. "I best go wake Ginny and Harry." She said wondering if she would be met with the same reception.
She walked down the hall and through the door the first sight that she had come across was the blood soaked bed she then looked over at her youngest in the arms of a man that no doubt loved her. She had also noticed that they both where sleeping with smiles on their faces. They where happy. Still the sight of the bed troubled her. She crossed the room and shook her daughter awake. She too woke in a start however she did not draw her wand. Harry woke once he felt her jump back violently closer to him. They both looked up at the woman they both knew to be a mother and saw the concern in her eyes. then realization hit Ginny she had forgotten to cast a spell to clean the bed.
"Mom I see that you are concerned about the blood. however I assure you that Harry and I are fine. We took turns patching each other up."She said noting a look of relief on her mother's face. Harry then chimed in.
"You also don't have to worry as most of the blood was mine. Ginny here is amazing with the medical charms." He said and pulled her in for a hug.
"Well I am glad to hear that you are both all mended now. I just came to wake you for dinner. see you down there." She said then apparated.
Dinner went the way of most feasts that the great Hall had seen with a few notable differences. Once they where finished they all apparated back to Gryffindor tower common room for the big meeting. when they arrived they saw that chairs had been set up. everyone took a seat and waited for Kingsley who then stood at the front of the room.
"First things first no one in this room is to ever address me as minister Shacklebolt we are all on the same level to you I will always be Kingsley. Now that we have an understanding of that let's get down to business. The reason why I have assembled you all here is because we need to figure out how to proceed. It is in my opinion that we should use the week that Minerva has graced us with to make sure that we are all coping with what has happened. I know from personal experience in the last war that post traumatic stress sometimes does not occur immediately all at once. Please look out for your fellow Order members and bring to their attention any change in behavior. Next I would like to inform you that I will be having individual meetings with certain people over the next week or two. Nothing sinister just trying to clarify a few things. I would highly recommend that you all head home and check the status of the protective charms and make sure it will be safe to return at weeks end or sooner if you'd prefer. The last thing that I wish to do is to ask Harry, Ron, and Hermione if you would not mind sharing the story of what it was that you where off doing?" Kingsley then waited for the response.
The trio had spoken of the possibility that they would need to trust in people and share the journey with them. Though they still felt scarred to re-live the ordeal that was the last few months. They felt everyone looking at them however they where only focused on each other.
"Ron, Hermione the choice is up to you. you have been nothing but supportive to me through the last seven years and I can not thank you enough. I am willing to share the story with a few conditions provided that you concent." He whispered to them. Ron was the next to share his opinion.
"Well I can't speak for either one of you but I feel as though they deserve to know the truth they where all busy holding the fort at home while we where able to get away from the deth eaters and spend some time in relative pease when we where the on the move. I vote with Harry though we are not uttering one word unless you agree Hermione." He finished knowing fully within his heart that she felt the same way.
"Well you both know that I will always stand with you both no matter the circumstances. The way I look at it is that we already know we can trust every last person in this room and if they did not sell us our to Voldemort then the certainly won't sell us to the prophet. So in short it is unanimous I vote yes." She then pulled Ron and Harry in for a hug.
After they broke their hug Harry responded to Kingsley. "We will do it on a few conditions. First we know you all are going to have questions however please hold off till the end. This is going to be hard enough without all of the interruptions. Second you do not look at any of us as broken after we tell you if anything it has made us stronger. If you can follow that then it will help us." He was just about to finish when Ron interrupted. He could feel the hurt in his voice
"Third and last Percy you had better make sure you keep your mouth shut to your friends at the prophet you all but disowned your family once before to keep you job at the ministry during the war. Now you come up in here and think that you will be trusted like before because you finally came to your senses and fought with us instead of against us. Which let's face it that is what you did every day when you went to work. If we read anything that has not otherwise been authorized by the three of us we will assume that it was you. Understand?" He said still feeling betrayed to the point that he was yelling at him. For a change Percy was speechless and all he could do was nod with his mouth wide open in shock with what he had just heard.
Fred and George could not let that slide they had to poke fun at him saying at the same time. "Close your mouth you look like a venus fly trap Perc." They joked and everyone laughed.
With that the trio took their places at the head of the room and began to tell their friends the tale. By the time they where finished they had covered the whole range of emotions everyone had laughed, cried, expressed horror and joy and became emotionally exhausted. The trio mostly looked at each other while they took turns talking as the trio soon found it to hard to see the reactions on the faces of their friends and allies. Once they where done Kingsley came up and pulled them all into a hug. They stayed in his warm and caring embrace for what felt like five minutes durring whichtime he decided that they had had enough talking for one day. Once he had released them he addressed the room once more.
"In light of the time I believe that it would be prudent for us all to get some rest. you can ask your questions tomorrow in private as long as they concent to answer. Please leave them alone for right now. You may hug and comfort them on your way to bed please form an orderly line." With that they all did what he had asked as they all wanted to offer them comfort as they hugged the trio they bid them all a good night they then headed off to bed. the only person not in the line was Ginny as she knew that she could hug them later.
Once the line left it was just the 4 of them and they to made their way up to their rooms. Once there the couples exchanged hugs goodnight and retired to their respective rooms to finally get the first good night of sleep that any of them had in a long time.