Ginny woke that morning and took stock as had become her habit over the last few months. She focused on each part of her body trying to assess her injuries. Her eyes flicked open and she saw the hangings above her bed and it all came rushing back to her. She wasn't hiding in Aunt Muriel's house. Harry had returned to Hogwarts and they had fought. The war was over. It was time to rebuild.
She rolled out of bed and looked around the room. It was almost empty, her Mum and Dad were on the bed opposite. The other beds were empty, a constant reminder of who was missing. She stumbled to the bathroom and quietly threw on a pair of robes so she could walk through the castle.
She walked down through the empty castle, weaving around piles of stone and rubble occasionally having to double back to avoid holes in the floor. Eventually, she made her way to the great hall which was empty. She saw a coffee pot and a pile of mugs from the quick conference with the Order and the remaining Aurors as they decided how to imprison the Death Eaters the night before. She filled a mug and threw a heating charm at it before turning around. Along the wall, where the Hufflepuff table normally was a row of bodies, covered in white sheets.
Ginny put a hand on the table to stabilize herself. Trying to ward off the tears for another couple of hours. Luna had always rattled on at breakfast about how important it was to start the day in a good mindset and Ginny was fairly certain that crying didn't count as a healthy outlook or whatever Luna called it.
She walked, very deliberately out of the Great Hall, and out to where the first rays of sun were shining through the open door. She sat down on the step and stared out at the lawn, stretching down towards the lake as always, except now the grass wasn't as smooth as a blanket. It had burn marks scattered throughout, a crater to the right and the destroyed Bridge in her periphery, but she just sat there alone as the heat from the sun began to warm the earth. She sat there, at peace with the world, as the sun rose on a new era.
Minerva rose that day and made her way to the Great Hall, as she did every day and paused in the entrance hall, normally she entered through the antechamber and the door behind the staff table, but today she stopped in front of the double doors that stood open. One of them looked like it had opened too far and the other was so damaged that it may not still fit in the door frame.
She took one last look around the entrance hall and caught sight of the back of Ginny Wesley, sitting on the front step, with an empty cup beside her, soaking up the early morning sun. Her hair a striking red in contrast to the rubble and scorch marks on the grey stone that surrounded them.
Minerva walked into the Great Hall and picked up two mugs, quickly filled them and then cast a refilling charm and a warming charm on them before picking them up and walking out to the front step.
She sat down next to Ginny and handed her a cup. Saying nothing. Drinking coffee.
They sat there in companionable silence. Relishing the bond that had been forged between them over the past year. Each working to protect the children. Minerva leading the staff and Ginny leading the Students. Neville had always been willing to go on the offensive but she was always arguing that they needed to protect the first and second years. Luna just quietly nodded along and then provided everything they needed. She somehow managed to procure anything within 24 hours. Even Polyjuice potion when Ginny started to want to take the children's detentions for them. It had been a blow to lose her at Christmas.
Ginny had no idea how bad things were after Easter. She had been hidden away at Aunt Muriel's. Neville had kept in contact through the sickles that Luna had worked out how to charm. It was fitting she said. They were the Silver Trio. Neville had laughed at that but Ginny knew what Luna meant. They were there to keep the resistance while Harry went to find whatever they needed to find. She suspected they may never know what happened to them during that terrible year, if the rumours were even half true then the nightmare she had endured wouldn't even hold a candle to their trauma.
Minerva was also lost in thought, but her thoughts revolved around the men that she had lost, from her lover in the youth, Martin McDougal to her mentor Albus Dumbledore. She thought of the students that had given their lives. She thought of James and Lily, Sirius and Remus, of Ted and Nymphadora Tonks. Then of those who she didn't know about, her dear friend Garrick Ollivander, Helen from Honeydukes and Mariana Malkin. Finally, her thoughts turned to those left behind, of Harry, of Dennis, of George, of Andy, of Teddy, Sweet Sweet Teddy who would grow up without ever knowing his parents. In each, she saw the potential and remembered the laughing face.
"It's the start of a new day," said Ginny, speaking for the first time.
"Indeed," replied Minerva, "and we must waste it."
"Quite," Ginny, "Shall we make a list?"
Minerva chuckled as she summoned a quill and a roll of parchment, it was remarkable how well they had learnt to understand each other. They worked away quietly, creating a list of everything that needed to be done, sitting on the front step of the castle with their coffee looking out at the lake as it began to sparkle for the first time all year.