1998

Hogwarts

There was nothing but peaceful darkness, and he drifted along contentedly, barely even aware of his surroundings.

"Pst...Harry..."

Like a stone into water, ripples stirred in that soul-soothing blackness, and the happily floating mind tried to ignore the intrusion.

"...Harry, wake up..."

The ripples soon grew into waves, shuddering the blackness, and the mind began to fight against it.

"...Lumos Solem!"

A burst of bright light erupted from somewhere, blinding Harry Potter as the beautiful, emptiness of the dark was shattered. He fell off his bed and groped blindly for his glasses, squinting as he was overwhelmed by foggy disorientation.

"Sorry." Luna's dreamy voice apologised as she handed him his glasses. "Professor McGonagall requested your presence. I offered to collect you, though it seemed you took a flask of Draught of Living Death." She explained as she sat on the bedframe, eyeing him curiously.

"Well, I suppose it's been a hard day." Harry groggily agreed as he put on his glasses, before everything came into focus as he adjusted to the light.

"I guess so. After all, you did just kill the worst Dark Wizard of the century." Luna replied. "Then again, unlike him, you weren't alone."

"I guess." Harry said as he sat back onto the bed, becoming acutely familiar of the aches and pains around his body numbed by exhaustion, before looking around the dormitory.

He looked over at Neville, once a boy who lacked the confidence to do anything, now a hero who had stood up to the Carrows and their cruelty, who had been the first to defy Voldemort after Harry had sacrificed himself, who had destroyed Nagini, the final Horcrux.

To his left, he saw Hermione, who had one arm over her new boyfriend's chest. He could still see the scarred impression of the word 'MUDBLOOD' upon her forearm, mercilessly carved by Bellatrix.

Shifting his glance, he turned his attention to Ron, whose face was etched with a warm smile. Ron, who had been with Harry since his first day at Hogwarts, had lost a brother in the fight, yet remained standing and fighting bravely, to the very end.

His attention was diverted by a mumbled yawn, and Harry looked around and was surprised to see Ginny sleeping next to him. The fiery girl who had loved him, waited for him, and fought for him - even though she still had a thing or two that she got off her chest yesterday.

"You know, I think I'll head back to the Great Hall, they are having a celebration feast. Maybe I could get some pudding." Luna said as she hopped off the bedframe. "I see you soon, hopefully Ginny would have let you go by then." She added cheerfully before skipping away.

Harry could only give a tired laugh before Ginny finally awoke. "Hey..." She mumbled as she rubbed her eyes. "You're up early."

"More like we're up late." Harry grinned as he helped her up. "Luna came in at McGonagall's request to get me. She also mentioned there's a feast going on."

"Can't it wait?" Ginny asked, almost pleadingly, as she held his hand.

"Under normal circumstances I would agree - especially after what happened yesterday - after Voldemort." Harry said, before moving his free hand to his nose.

"Will a few more bat-bogey hexes have to do?" She replied slyly, eyeing at her wand which was next to his on the bedside drawer.

"As much as I don't want to, I wouldn't want to get on McGonagall's bad side." He said. "And, since you're here, I might as well apologize for how things ended between us..."

Neither of them said anything for a moment after that, while Ginny seemed to think about her response.

"Promise me this." Ginny told Harry when they turned to face each other again. "When things settle down a bit, make sure to plan some alone time for us - we have a lot of catching up to do."

"Don't worry." Harry smiled as he cupped her cheek. "I fully plan to do so, ever since I went on the run."

"You better uphold your end of the bargain then." Ginny smiled as Ron and Hermione began to stir. "Looks like the happy couple is finally awake. How did they come together, by the way?"

"Let's just say, Ron decided to finally join S.P.E.W., and they finally admitted their feelings." He grinned.

"Well, won't that be a story for the ages." Ginny sarcastically said before planting a kiss on his cheek. "We'll talk later." She promised before slipping out of the room.

Harry's smile remained on his face as he headed towards the bathroom. As he turned on the faucet and splashed his face, he finally felt the realisation wash over him. Finally, he was free of the burden of being the Saviour of the Wizarding World. The Boy Who Lived. The Chosen One. For the first time of his life, he was free to choose his own destiny, without anyone intervening.

"Harry?" Ron's voice called out from the other side, and the quick shuffling meant that the couple were awake.

"Easy now, I'm just using the bathroom." Harry said calmly as he stepped out. Ron and Hermione, who were previously having mild panic attacks, gave a huge sigh of relief.

"Bloody hell, mate. We thought Voldemort came back from the dead and took you away!" Ron shouted.

"Hey, that can't happen. It's not like he's going to be "third time lucky", is he?" Harry grinned.

"Alright, so what now?"

"What now, for me anyway, is to show up in the Great Hall." Harry said. "You two could continue doing what you were planning to do last night, or you could join me later." He added as Ron and Hermione's faces blushed as red as the former's hair.

Ignoring their flabbergasted looks, Harry strolled out to the common room, where to his surprise, bumped into Mrs. Weasley.

"Oh!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, before her surprise melted into warmth. "Harry, dear, so glad to have found you. I was, erm, hoping for a word or two-"

"Sorry, Mrs. Weasley, but Luna told me that Professor McGonagall was looking for me."

"Oh don't worry, we can talk it on the way there." Mrs. Weasley quickly replied as she led the way towards the portrait hole.

"For starters, though I'm pretty sure you're going to hear this a lot." She began, "I would like to thank you."

"Mrs. Weasley, I can't take all the credit. You were the one who killed Bellatrix-"

"Ah, but she was going to kill Ginny. I don't think I could have mustered all of my strength after..."

He could see the tears that had formed in her eyes, and Harry immediately knew he had brought up bad memories. "Mrs. Weasley, I'm sorry-"

"Please, after all these years? Call me Molly." She smiled through her tears. "And there's no need to apologise. Every one of us knew the risks, and even though it hurts, it's what we had chosen to do."

"I'm guessing that the next few weeks won't be merciful. All the funerals - Lupin, Tonks, Fred, Colin..." Harry trailed off, remembering the bodies he saw in the Great Hall. A pang of guilt suddenly sunk in his gut, just as Voldemort's earlier remark resurfaced in his mind.

"You have permitted your friends to die for you..." Voldemort's voice echoed in his mind, taunting him with the death of his friends.

"Harry, dear, look at me." Mrs. Weasley said as she took him by the shoulders. "It's not your fault that any of them are dead. If anyone, it's Voldemort's, and you killed him. Their deaths won't be in vain, and I'm sure they'll do the same to stop him." She gave him a stern glare, that reminded him of Ginny when she had punished him yesterday. "Don't go crying over spilled milk. You've got a bright future up ahead - one I'm sure Ginny would love to share with you."

Harry had nearly tripped when he heard her say that.

"Don't be surprised. I know you two were together - even though she said that she didn't consider you two apart - and her behavior at Muriel's made it obvious. And I couldn't have had a better son in law." Mrs. Weasley gave a happy sigh. "Just know that if you ever think of proposing, you have my blessing."

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley - Molly." Harry quickly corrected himself as she gave him a look.

"And while we're on the topic of funerals..." Mrs. Weasley choked slightly on the word 'funeral'. "Arthur and I were hoping that you could say a few words at Fred's - George was persistent about it."

"I'll be there." He said as the doors to the Great Hall appeared in sight.

"Well, now that's one more thing of my chest. Now, go in. Wouldn't want McGonagall waiting." Mrs. Weasley smiled. Harry returned the gesture before pushing the doors open.

He saw many families as he passed through, none of which reacted to him. He could not blame them; they must still be in mourning, for lost friends and family.

One duo happened to catch his eye, and he stopped to see Dennis Creevey, who was holding himself together - albeit barely - next to the corpse of his elder brother.

"Hey, Dennis." He said softly, turning towards the young Gryffindor, who gave him a big hug.

"Colin could had lived." Dennis said. "But he told me, before he left, that his life, for someone else like me - other muggleborns - would have been worth fighting for." He finally looked up, a bright smile on his face that reminded Harry of his first encounter with the elder Creevey. "Thank you, Harry."

Harry could find no other words to respond, so he simply hugged Dennis for a long time, silently, before moving on.

"Good afternoon, Professor." Harry said as he approached Professor McGonagall, who was in a discussion with Kingsley Shacklebolt. "Luna said you wanted to see me?"

"Right about time, Mr. Potter." McGonagall clapped her hands together. "I know this is a bit impromptu, but I was hoping that you could give a small talk later - nothing too grand, of course - but it would certainly help raise the spirits."

"Yeah, I understand, Professor." Harry nodded. "I suppose we should get started then?"

"Quite right." Kingsley agreed as McGonagall took a deep breath and stepped onto the Owl Lectern.

"If I may have your attention..." She began, as the rest of the hall quieted down.

"For many years, we have feared Voldemort, and during the last few months, we were under his control." She began, aware of how some people were still shaking as the name was mentioned. "Last night, we all fought together, and in the end, we were victorious. Voldemort is dead, and while Hogwarts has considerably fallen, we will rebuild, as will the Wizarding World." She finished before stepping down for Kingsley to take her place.

"Thank you, Professor." He said before facing the crowd. "Twenty years ago, we had once mourned for the dead, as we hoped for the future to be peaceful. Today, I can assure you, now that the Dark Lord is dead, peace will finally be upon us, all thanks to," He turned back to extend an arm towards Harry. "Harry Potter."

The crowds gave a standing ovation, and Kingsley raised his hand before the crowd quieted down. "Now, before I let Mr. Potter say a few words." He smiled as he produced a shining medal hung on an emerald green ribbon. "I would like to thank Mr. Potter on behalf of the Ministry by awarding him with the Order of Merlin, First Class for saving the Wizarding World."

As the crowd gave another thundering roar of approval, Kingsley took the opportunity to whisper. "It's the least we can do, for all the previous harm the ministry has done to you."

"I need to talk to you about something later." Harry whispered back while Kingsley gave a curt nod before ushering him up.

"Well, I would like to thank our acting Minister of Magic for this honour." Harry began. "But even I admit, about seven years ago, I wouldn't have thought I was anything special. Heck, at that time, I didn't even know magic existed. But I had help, from my classmates, my friends, and even families."

Glancing over to the Gryffindor table, he grinned as he saw two people slipping in unnoticed, though not for long. "Therefore, I also would like to thank the two people who have been on my side ever since I came to Hogwarts. My best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger!"

The duo had only managed to catch their breath, and so were reasonably startled when people started chanting their name.

"You had to give us a bloody heart attack, didn't you mate?" Ron groaned as Harry joined the Weasley's at the Gryffindor table.

"Come on, Ronnikins." George popped up out if nowhere before plopping down beside him. "Serves you right for being late, which by the way." He turned back to Harry. "When did they sort things out?"

"Yesterday, something about elf rights." Harry replied, just as a hand scuffled his hair.

"Should had thought you were alive, 'Arry!" Hagrid boomed. "Been the worst day of me life, I thought, when they had meh carry ya back. Couldn't be more wrong."

"What can I say? I'm a tough nut." Harry grinned. "Speaking of which, you got any rock cake?"

"Ooh, yer cheeky bugger." Hagrid laughed, just as Kingsley entered his sights.

"Be right back." Harry said as he slipped off and outside the Great Hall.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"There's a few things, actually." Harry replied. First, it's about Snape."

"Severus? I take it that he had something to do with your disappearance then." Kingsley sarcastically raised an eyebrow, his tone suddenly becoming cold.

"Well, it could take awhile, but I guess I could show you another time." Harry said. "They're in a pensive in Dumbledore's office, I'm sure you could take the time to view them, given your position."

"Indeed, I could. Now, while we're at the topic of positions, I would like to tell you that whenever you're ready, there's a post in the Aurors waiting for you."

"Really?"

"Given your experience, I could think of no better candidate." Kingsley smiled. "Now, before I go, is there anything else?"

"Just one. I was wondering, how far has the news traveled?"

"The battle was too late last night to make the morning edition, but I imagine tomorrow's paper will have it. Don't get me wrong though, people know. I hear that wizards and witches are celebrating in Lancashire.'

'I bet that's quite a sight,' Harry chuckled.

"With the Obliviators being run ragged trying to modify Muggle memories? It's even worse than back in eighty-one." Kingsley jokingly agreed. "I really need to go now. But do let me know if you change your mind."

"Will do."