Hello everyone! I hope you like this one. I'm fitting in these little drabbles in between my Masters degree, so I hope you will accept my apologies if the next drabble is a little late. Wishing you all well. X

I am reading before bed when there is a knock on the door that makes me go still, not expecting it so late at night.

I pull a dressing gown around myself, prop my glasses on the bridge of my nose, and make my way to the door. No student would be able to get here, anyway; the privilege of student visitation on an evening remains with the heads of houses (a daily irritation according to Neville, who found that the majority of the nightly calls were not serious).

When I open the door, I expect Neville with an emergency message on behalf of the Gryffindors, or Minerva with an emergency at worst.

It's neither. It's Harry. Harry, who doesn't even live in the castle.

He blinks at me like he's surprised to see me. "Audrey."

"Harry? Everything alright?"

"Uh," he swallows thickly, eyes red. "Yeah. I'm not, though."

His bottom lip wobbles a little. Just a little, but it's enough to make my heart drop into my stomach.

I open the door wider to let him in. "I'll make tea."

"Got anything stronger?"

"Maybe after we've talked, eh?" I tell him gently.

Harry nods, agreeing without protest. He drops onto the sofa, in front of the fire, like a rock.

I make the tea by hand. It didn't taste the same when it was made with magic; not in my mind, anyway. I hand him a cup and sit next to him. "What's going on Harry?"

He doesn't look at me. "I- I'm not sure how to… I don't know anyone other than you who doesn't know her, so I thought-"

He stops. I don't rush him.

"It's Gin," he says finally, voice painfully quiet. "Ginny. We broke up."

"Oh Harry," I murmur, reach out to wrap an arm around his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I know how much she meant to you."

And I did. Harry, when we'd first met, spoke about her on a daily basis. How wonderful and funny and caring she was; how lucky he was to find the love of his life so young. I never got the chance to meet her, but everyone spoke about her in the same way. I was happy for them.

Neville and I had both noticed how despondent he had become when talking about the young Quidditch player, but had decided it best not to say anything. Now, it made sense.

"Things haven't been the same for a while now," he continues, almost like I'm not there. "We don't talk as much, not about anything that matters anyway. We both tried, for so long, but it just didn't- it didn't-"

A little sob crackles in his throat. It breaks my heart. "Oh Harry."

"I don't know why. I don't understand. It's not her fault, or mine, but even after everything we've been through together… I don't understand why we can't make it work."

I consider my words carefully before speaking. "Do you want actual advice, or do you just want me to listen? Either is fine."

A corner of his mouth quirks in a little smile. "Actual advice."

"I think," I start slowly. "The two of you fell in love in some rather adverse circumstances. You had an awful lot going on in your personal life. You were being pulled in so many different directions, it's no wonder you were kind of…"

"Erratic?"

"Yeah. And I think all that pressure meant you didn't get a lot of time to figure out who you actually were, because you were always trying to be who people needed. There is a huge difference between those two things. So when the war ended, and you stopped being that person all the time, you settled into yourself. Ginny probably did too. And now it's not the same as before because, well-"

"Because it's not," Harry mumbles dully, not looking at me.

"Yeah." I watch him uncertainly. "That doesn't make it any easier to accept though, does it?"

"No." He finally meets my eyes. "But it does help. Thank you."

"Of course. Whatever you need."

Harry takes a sip of his tea, tears still slipping over his cheeks, but far more relaxed than when he first came in the door. "What do I do now?"

I fix my eyes on a spot above the mantle. The photo frame holding a picture of Jamie and I is face down, so I don't have to look at it anymore, but I can still see his face, a Ravenclaw scarf wrapped around both of our shoulders. "Is Ginny still home?"

"Yes."

"You can sleep on the sofa, if you want. Go home and sort things tomorrow, when you're rested."

He sighs, relieved, leaning his head onto my shoulder. "If you don't mind, that would be great."

I pat him gently on the shoulder and stand to my feet. "I'll grab you some blankets. Do you want dreamless sleep too?"

He swallows thickly, looking disturbed for a moment. "No."

Taken off guard, I stare at him for a moment before nodding. "Alright. That's fine."

He's stressed, distraught. I let the moment of snappiness go.

Then, voice cracking, he teases, "Those blankets better not be blue. You got any red in there?"

I smile reluctantly as I rifle through my trunk at the base of my bed. Same old Harry. "Beggers can't be choosers Potter!"

"Sure they can. I came to the best, didn't I?"

Despite knowing it is totally platonic, my cheeks warm.