They awoke next morning to loud banging on the door, and for one wild moment, Harry's mind returned to the cupboard under the stairs in Privet Drive. He sat up suddenly, completely disoriented, and Ginny woke with a start.

It was Ron. "Oi! Breakfast time you lazy gits – or lunch more like it."

They grabbed some rumpled clothes and dressed hurriedly, but as Harry made to grab the door handle, Ginny put her hand over his. He turned to look at her, and they shared a deep, gentle kiss which brought the memories of the previous night before flooding back intensely. Harry turned, pressing Ginny against the door, drinking in the taste of her. But then, just as it seemed as though things were heating up, Ron banged on the door again, shattering the memory of desire.

"Alright, we're coming!" Ginny rolled her eyes.

Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Percy, Hermione, and Mr Weasley were already in the kitchen, which was completely chaotic. Bill and Charlie were trying their best to bewitch the pans to make pancakes, but there was batter everywhere and they kept tossing the pancakes so forcefully Harry could see shards stuck to the ceiling. Hermione and Fleur were trying to clear up the kitchen and make space for everyone to sit down, which meant sending bits of parchment, ink bottles, spell books, and a number of other miscellaneous things flying across the room, weaving in between the inhabitants. Percy was shouting self-importantly over the din, trying but failing to organise things. Mr Weasley was standing in the middle of the room, looking completely frazzled and getting caught in the crossfire of pancake fragments and ink droplets.

Harry stood for a moment at the bottom of the stairs with Ron and Ginny looking on at the confusion. Then Mrs. Weasley appeared behind them suddenly. Harry noticed, miserably, that her eyes were red and raw, with dark circles underneath, as though she had been crying all night. She probably had, Harry reasoned, which helped to explain the scene in front of him. But then she spoke, and, he heard with relief, that her voice was steady.

"Alright you lot, QUIET!"

The kitchen became still at once, aside from a pancake that had just been flipped into the air. It hit the ceiling and, after a moment, fell to the floor with a squelch. With a few practiced waves of her wand, she had cleared the batter from the ceiling and floor and set the rest of the pancakes down on a plate on the table. Then she pointed her wand at her husband and cried "scourgify!" and his robes were cleared of the remnants of pancake and ink.

Mr Weasley looked relieved that Mrs Weasley was up to having breakfast with everyone. As they all sat down to eat, Harry realised suddenly how starving he was. He couldn't remember the last time he ate. For a fleeting moment, it was like old times again, as though they were at the Order of the Phoenix headquarters or preparing for Bill and Fleur's wedding.

But after a few minutes, they couldn't help but feel Fred and George's gaping absence. At one point, Hermione asked Charlie quietly whether George would be coming down, but he shook his head sadly. At this, Ginny stood up from the table, piled some pancakes onto a plate, and, still chewing, walked upstairs in the direction of George's room. She didn't come out all afternoon.

After a while, Ron contemplated checking in on them, out loud, but Charlie talked him out of it. In the hope of distracting themselves, Harry, Ron, Bill, and Charlie decided to take the Weasley's old brooms out to the field for a game of quidditch. Even Hermione consented to play, though Harry suspected this had more to do with not wanting to be left in the tense company of Mrs. Weasley and Fleur.

Getting out on the brooms had a distinctly positive effect on everyone's spirits. Feeling breeze on his face and seeing the ground descend beneath him gave Harry a moment to breathe, what felt like his first deep breath since the Battle of Hogwarts. For a moment, it was a release from his sadness.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron played against Bill and Charlie. Ron was in his element, coaching Hermione in various quidditch tips each time she had the quaffle, until he let in two goals in a row and Harry shouted that he was the one who needed lessons. Laughing for what felt like the first time in an age, Harry ducked and weaved between the various Weasleys, scoring goal after goal while they shouted abuse at him over the sound of the sound of the roaring wind. The game came to a halt when the sun dropped below the rolling hills, and the team came to a breathless landing, smiles on their pink and windswept faces.

They traipsed back to the house, brooms in hand. Hermione led the way, then Bill and Charlie, heads close together in quiet conference, and then finally Harry and Ron. It was the first time they'd been alone since the doe had led them to the icy lake in the Forest of Dean. They hung back as the others entered the house.

"Ron," Harry began in an anguished voice, and to his horror, he felt tears welling up in his eyes and throat, "Fred… was one of the best of us. I- I'm so sorry". He hung his head, not wanting his face to betray his emotions to Ron. It felt contrived, almost, to cry in front of Ron, when he knew how much worse he must feel.

Chancing a look at Ron's face, though, he saw that his face was wet with tears. He grasped him in a momentary but tight hug. "I… I can't believe he's gone," said Ron, his voice stilted and gruff with sadness. They held each other a moment longer, and then started walking again.

The darkness drew in around them and they walked along in silence for some time. Then Ron, recovering the steadiness of his voice, said, "so… are you and Ginny together now, or what?"

Harry almost stopped in his tracks. Some part of him had been nervous about this moment and hadn't expected it to come around so soon. He started speaking without thinking, letting the words form as he said them, "I- I don't know. We haven't talked about the future much yet… but… I know that I love her."

They stopped walking and the words seem to hang in the air between them. Though he couldn't see his face clearly, Ron seemed stunned. "And she… she said she loves me," he finished, somewhat feebly. Ron paused for a moment, and then made a sudden movement which caused Harry to jump, afraid for one brief moment that Ron was going to punch him. But Ron pulled him again into a tight clasp, seeming to communicate, wordlessly, his acceptance and understanding. "Just make sure you never hurt her again, or I'll have to kill you... which after everything we've done to try and keep you alive, seems like a bit of a waste." Harry almost smiled. "I won't," he agreed, earnestly.

They walked on a few more steps, and then Harry, cautious about disturbing the tacit calm between them, ventured to ask, "what about you and Hermione?" Even in the fading light, Harry could see Ron's reddening ears, and a trace of a grin passed across his face.

"Erm… yeah you could say that," said Ron gruffly. "I mean…" at this, his face broke into a grin in spite of himself, and Harry finished for him, "finally!" Ron gave him a non-committal punch in the arm and they walked back to the burrow together, Harry feeling the deepness of their love, their friendship, and their sadness, mingled together in an almost overwhelming wave of emotion.

Ginny was in her room, lying still and quiet on the bed. He sat gently beside her, talking her cold hand into his own and kissing it. They sat like that, in the stillness, for a while, Harry waiting for her to speak, if she wanted to.

Suddenly her calm resolve seemed to break, and she blurted out, "I miss him so much. I… I don't know what to do." She wasn't crying but her voice cracked. "I know," he whispered quietly, thinking of how it had felt to lose Sirius, Mad Eye, Remus, and Tonks. The dull ache that he felt about his parents, and the sharp pain that he experienced when he thought of Dumbledore. They lay together, quiet and still, her head resting on his shoulder, while they allowed the grief to course through them. After a while they fell asleep in each other's arms.