A/N: thanks to everyone who favorited, reviewed, and followed! Specifically to Professor McGonagall, who I was unable to PM. I'm so happy people like it! This ones a bit long, so I hope you don't mind. Enjoy! Read and review!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this.

Beta'd byjuliana677- thank you!

The First Day of Peace

Ron, Hermione, and Harry walked hand in hand through the destroyed castle down to the Great Hall. No one spoke. No one had to. The silence said enough. Normally the halls would be bustling with laughter and happiness and life. Today, though, they were bustling with nothing. Empty, destroyed, and lifeless. It was the aftermath of a battle for good and evil, at the safest place in the Wizarding World.

Before Harry took two steps into the Great Hall, he was ambushed by a thin frame with flaming red hair. Throwing her arms around his neck, she relaxed into Harry, and let herself be comforted just by him being there. Immediately, Harry responded, winding his arms around her waist as far as they could go, pulling her flush to him, and resting his head on her shoulder, as she rested her's under his neck. They stood there for a long time, trapped in a longing embrace, relaxed into each other. Then, Ginny tilted her head up and whispered into his ear,

"Merlin, Harry, you did it. I was so worried, I..." Harry heard her voice tremble, "I don't know what I would've done without you, you know," she whispered.

Harry comforted her, leaving one arm tight around her waist, while the other rubbed warm circles on her upper back; "Shh..." he replied "I'm here now. Calm down Ginny...I'm here, I'm okay. I promise, we're okay," he whispered.

She simply responded by pulling him closer, if that was possible, and melted into his arms and words, "I thought...we thought-" tears stung her eyes, but she made her voice firm "Don't you ever scare me like that again, Harry, so help me."

He let out a light laugh and pulled her closer, "It's alright, Gin. I'm safe. You're safe. We've done it, he's dead. Please, I'm alright, calm down."

Finally, Ginny pulled away, but kept their hands locked, "Come on," she said quietly, wiping tears from her eyes, "let's eat."

Harry bent down slightly, and brought his thumb up to her face to brush away tears, then came closer and spoke, just as quiet, "Okay. We need to talk, Gin. We'll go for a walk later, yeah?"

Ginny, relaxed at his warm touch, and then nodded and continued to pull him toward her family at the Gryffindor table.

Finally arriving at the Weasleys, Harry sat down next to Ginny, still gripping her hand, across from Ron and Hermione, and looked around. He noticed Seamus and Dean down the table, talking to Luna, who sat next to Neville. His grandmother, Augusta, sat beside him. He looked at the other tables, and saw other, surviving (he gulped at the word) members of the D.A.: Cho, Ernie and Hannah, the Patils. He saw residents of Hogsmeade and adults elsewhere bustling about their children, trying to be calm and happy but failing miserably in their joy at the end of the War. But that's how it should be, he thought. He saw members of the Order of the Phoenix, and McGonagall and Kingsley up at the High Table. Really, he saw peace. Not fear, or danger, but peace.

His thoughts were interrupted by Mrs. Weasley.

"Harry! My goodness, dear, are you alright? You were so brave yesterday. We're all so proud of you! I'm so happy you came down to see us. You deserve it, you know," she gushed, and embraced Harry in the tightest hug he's had in the past century or so. He loved it. But as wonderful as it felt to have a motherly hug, he couldn't help the guilt when he saw her red, puffy eyes: an obvious sign she'd been crying.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley, but I'm okay. Please, I didn't do much. Are you okay? I'm so, so sorry. Fred was incredible, and...," and tears touched his cheeks as he laid his head on Mrs. Weasley's shoulder, embracing her tighter, "it's all my fault! I..."

Mrs. Weasley rubbed his back, in that motherly way that had always calmed Harry down, and responded quietly, calmly, trying to take back her tears that had joined his, "Harry, you were so brave. Don't be so modest, please," he let out a light laugh, "Don't you go blaming yourself for anything. Look around you. People are safe, thanks to you. We knew what we were getting into when we came here. Fred," she choked back a sob, "is happy where he is. He fought for all of us. He'll be okay. Please, dear, be happy."

"They seem like they're mourning to me," Harry mumbled to her, "I did that."

Molly pulled back, keeping her tears controlled for his sake, and held him out in front of her, giving him the most determined look she had, and told him firmly "No. Harry, you didn't. Now you are going to accept it, accept what you've done for ALL of us, and tuck in and eat."

He looked at her, and finally understood. "Okay," he responded quietly. He gave her one last hug and whispered "Thank you. So, so much." She nodded into his shoulder, pulled away, and sat down.

Mr. Weasley stepped up to him next. His glasses were askew, and he looked like he had aged a few years overnight, with tear tracks running down his face. He smiled, with as much heart as he could muster at the moment, with everything going on, and pulled Harry to him, giving him a firm hug and a pat on the back. "We are so proud of you, son. You've done an amazing thing. You're a hero, and anyone would be a fool to think otherwise, including yourself," he said quietly.

Son. Harry thought. It was nice to be called that. He hadn't heard it since Sirius had died, "Mr. Weasley...I'm sorry...thank you? But I just..."

Arthur pulled back, and looked Harry in the eyes, "No. Enough of that. You've done a great thing. Fred died fighting. You made it so he, Remus, Tonks, your godfather, they did not die in vain."

Harry nodded, "Thank you, Mr. Weasley," he looked toward Molly, "You two, you're the only parents I've ever known, really. And I- I just want to thank you, for everything."

The pair embraced him, and Molly said, "You are like a son to us, Harry. You know that. James, Lily, they would be so, so proud of you."

Harry blinked back tears and nodded. Finally pulling away, he sat back down with Ginny, who placed her head on his shoulder and snuggled close. Harry placed his head on her's, breathed carefully in and out a few times, then lifted it back up and ate.

As proper food nourished his system for the first time since Kreacher's sandwich last night, Harry realized just how hungry he had been. Before that sandwich, he really hadn't had a proper meal in about nine months. It felt really, really good: food flowing through his system, warming him, filling his stomach slowly but surely. His plate was empty in a little under five minutes. When he went in for seconds, Kingsley had begun speaking,

"Good afternoon everyone. Thank you all, for gathering here. I think a few rounds of applause are in order. First, to all of those who fought yesterday, the Wizarding World is forever in your debt. You were willing to put your lives on the line for all of us." Clapping began around the great hall.

"To those who were lost in the fight, who did sacrifice themselves in the end, who died fighting Voldemort."

Clapping continued louder, mixed with a few choked cries.

"To the new Headmistress McGonagall and the Hogwarts Staff, to Dumbledore's Army, and to the Order of the Phoenix, who contributed significantly to yesterday's victory,"

Clapping grew louder still, cheers being thrown in for good measure.

"And finally, to yesterday's heroes, without whom Voldemort would still be here: Neville Longbottom, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and, of course, Harry Potter!"

The entire Hall broke out into applause now, all eyes drawn to the Gryffindor table. Neville was ecstatic, surprised for such recognition. Ron and Hermione just smiled. But Harry attempted to avert his gaze, sick of the attention.

"I," Kingsley spoke again, "Kingsley Shacklebolt, as newly appointed temporary Minister of Magic, will do everything in my power to remove the corruptness that has raided our Ministry, and everything I can to restore the Wizarding World of the United Kingdom to its former glory. Tomorrow, services will be held, in order to remember those lost, and explain to you how Voldemort was defeated in the end. They will be held here, at Hogwarts. For now, though, you are welcome to spend the night, or return home (home, Harry thought, he had not even begun to think of that) to a place that you know is finally safe. Celebrate and mourn, remember the past and embrace the future. Have a fine, peaceful afternoon. Thank you."

Applause broke out again, before Professor- no, Headmistress, Harry thought- McGonagall spoke.

"Thank you, Minister Shacklebolt. Again, I commend everyone here for their bravery, and I hope that the wizarding world can put the past behind to look forward to a happy future. Hogwarts will be rebuilding, starting next week. Anyone who wants to volunteer should speak to me or a member of the staff. I'm also offering the chance for any student whose seventh year was this past year to return next year, to complete their education. A memorial will be built here, to remember the lives lost yesterday, and everyone who gave their lives will be recognized tomorrow at the service. Congratulations, again, and have a wonderful rest of the day."

Applause broke out, then quieted down, and everyone returned to eating. Harry continued to eat in silence, until he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Potter," Harry turned to face Professor McGonagall, "Kingsley and I need to speak to you, Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger in my office, when you're done if you please. I'm sure you need no further explanation. We need to know what you've been doing this year, and we need to be capable of explaining to everyone how a seventeen year old boy defeated Lord Voldemort," she said firmly, but she was smiling. She was proud.

"Of course, Professor. I'd like to speak to the Weasleys though, before this. They deserve to know."

"Very well, Mr. Potter. You shall meet me and Kingsley in the Headmistress' office at four o' clock. I will see you then."

"Yes, Professor," and he watched McGonagall's retreating figure. When they were gone, Harry turned back to the Weasleys, and cleared his throat, so as to divert conversation and hear him out for a second, "You guys are my family. You deserve to know where I've been for the last year. I want to tell you everything. Please, come outside with me, where we can talk," he asked, somewhat desperate for them to give him a chance to explain.

"Of course, Harry dear," replied Mrs. Weasley, genuinely smiling in support, "Come along then," she directed to her family.

Harry stood with Ginny and led them outside.

They convened under Harry, Ron, and Hermione's favorite beech tree by the lake, sitting back against it. Ginny sat next to Harry, still squeezing his hand for support, and Arthur, Molly, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Percy, and George sat around them, waiting intently.

"Err...well.. After the wedding was crashed, Ron, Hermione and I went on the run..." and the three told them everything: Grimmauld Place, the ministry break-in, the escape from Gringotts, Xenophilius, and Malfoy Manor. Hermione tearfully recounted her encounter with Bellatrix. Ron told his family of him leaving to Shell Cottage. They told the story of the hallows and, lastly, everything about the horcruxes: what they were, how Dumbledore had been helping Harry to find and destroy them, how he was sworn to secrecy, and in the end why Harry went into the forest and sacrificed himself, explained through Snape's memories and his love of Lily Evans, and how the elder wand didn't work for Riddle. It was a tearful story and by the end, all of the Weasleys had tears in their eyes, and were embracing the three for dear life. Mrs. Weasley was shamelessly bawling, and she rushed forward to hug them in support. Ginny was crying as well, and Harry put an arm around her and pulled her close, letting her cry on his shoulder. He accepted the hugs, and the love, and the praise, and thought to himself that it all sounded very brave and heroic out loud.

Finally, after the story was complete, the tears gone, he asked what he'd been wanting to know all morning, "Guys, where is everyone? The ones who died?"

"Inside the hospital wing, Harry, they've been prepped for burial," Mr. Weasley replied, trying to answer with a steady expression.

Harry turned to Ginny, "Please, come back with me."

She nodded, and turned to Molly, speaking quietly, "Mum. I'm going to go see Fred and Remus and Tonks." Mrs. Weasley nodded in response, tears starting to gather again at the mention of her son, and she moved back to her husband. Harry waited anxiously to get out of there, not wanting to let guilt creep back in.

Harry and Ginny gathered themselves and walked in silence to the castle. They went to the Hospital Wing, and found Remus and Tonks together in a corner. Composing himself, so as to not blatantly break down sobbing, he spoke:

"Remus, Tonks, I'm so, so sorry. You'll never know how sorry I am. You didn't deserve this. Thank you, for helping me. I'm going to be the greatest godfather I possibly can, and Teddy will grow up happy, surrounded by people who love him. I promise," he let a few tears fall. "You both mean so much to me, and I... thanks for everything. I...I love you." Ginny gave his hand a comforting squeeze, and he turned away, letting himself cry. Ginny reached up to hug and comfort him. After a few minutes, he calmed down, and turned back again, "I'll never, ever forget you. Mischief Managed, Moony. Wotcher, Tonks."

Blinking back tears, he turned to find his fellow members of the D.A. who had lost their lives. He said a simple sorry, giving them each a moment of silence they deserved.

He found Dennis Creevey standing next to Colin's body. Slowly, he put a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. Dennis jumped up, startled, then turned around. He waited for Harry to speak,

"I'm so sorry, Dennis. Colin was such a great kid,"

Dennis, unlike the others he had seen this morning, was resentful, "Yeah. I know. You're right. He was... amazing," then he rejected Harry and turned away.

Harry reached out, upset, "Dennis..."

Dennis turned back around, angry, "Look, Harry. I get it, you feel bad. I...I don't mean to be rude," his expression softened, "I'm really sorry. I should be thanking you. But honestly, can you just leave us alone for a bit?"

Harry responded immediately, "No, Dennis, you're right. You don't need to thank me, no one does. I'm so, so sorry. I'll...I'll talk to you later," then he turned to find Ginny, who had gone ahead to find Fred's bedside.

He finally found Fred in another corner, Ginny already standing there crying. Instantly, Harry weaved an arm around her waist, and pulled her to him, while she nestled her head in the crook of his neck, sobbing. Harry let some of his own tears fall, while whispering soothing words in Ginny's ear and attempting to calm himself down as well. Finally, Harry spoke to Fred, struggling to maintain his voice, and by the end, he was in tears,

"Fred. I'm so sorry. This is all my fault! I- I want you to know how much you mean to me. You and George acted as my very own older brothers, and as an only child, that meant a lot. You cheered me up on bad days, plowed through the war with jokes," he smiled slightly through his tears, "you helped me through everything, and were always there for me. You're amazing, Fred," he finished.

Ginny's sobs were louder now, and he did not hear George join them at the bedside. "Thank you, Harry. That means a lot."

Harry jumped, startled, but then turned to face him, "George, I- I'm so sorry. It's...it's my fault that he's gone. All of you, you've lost a brother, and I...I'm responsible."

At the mention of Harry's back-again guilt, Ginny practically jumped from his arms, fighting her sobs to give Harry a proper talk, moving to stand side by side with George. She faced him, a hard expression on her features, "NO. I will not hear any of this! I thought we were done with this! I thought you knew it wasn't your fault!"

"I-" Harry began.

"No Harry. Enough feeling sorry for yourself, please," it was George this time, "Fred died laughing, happy, fighting for a cause, and thanks to you, it wasn't for nothing. I'm done with your pity. I've lost a brother, a twin! I'm the one who should be feeling bad about myself. If I had been there, I could've..." George's own tears began to fall. Ginny turned, angry at her own brother now, and brought his chin down to face her eyes, speaking firmly,

"Don't YOU dare to go off on yourself, now! I'm surrounded by pity. They died, we're sad, but they fought for us! How would Fred feel if he saw us down here crying about him?!" she screamed, then ran out.

Harry and George looked into another's eyes, and that was enough. Neither was responsible, and they knew it. They shared a hug, and Harry ran out after Ginny, while George stayed by his twin's bedside.

He found her sitting up against the wall, and leaned down, but when he tried to put his arm around her, she pushed it away.

"Listen, Gin-"

"No," she replied, "I've already lost a brother; I can't lose others because they think they're the ones who killed him."

"I know, but-"

"No buts! You didn't do anything, and you saved us, and it's not your fault," she replied, her bottom lip trembling.

"I know. Gin, you're absolutely right. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. You're right, per usual," he finished, with a small smile.

She leaned her head up, and returned the smile, then leaned in and hugged him. "Good. Finally learning," she joked.

He kissed the top of her head, the leaned down to look at her. "I have to go to McGonagall's now, but we'll go for our walk after that, yeah?"

"Yeah," she agreed, smiled, stood, and left.

Hermione watched Harry and Ginny walk up the hospital wing. Relaxing against the beech tree, she noticed all the Weasleys around her start to get up and walk away. It felt amazing to have everything off her chest. Not paying any attention to where the rest of the Weasleys may be off to, she leaned her head against Ron's chest, whose burden had also been lifted. They had barely talked yet, and she wanted to. She knew he did, too. She could tell from that kiss. They were in love, and going to spend the rest of their lives together, and she couldn't wait. Just the thought made her feel all giddy inside, a very un-Hermione like emotion. So after a few minutes of the peaceful rise and fall of his chest, and the rhythm of his beating heart, she rested her chin on it and tilted up to look at him. He had a goofy smile on his face when he looked down.

"Hey," he spoke giddily.

"Er... hi," she giggled slightly in nervousness.

"So..." he began.

"The kiss," she finished for him, firmly.

"Yeah. Did you, err, like it?"

She laughed outright.

"Oi, what's so funny?" he demanded.

"Of course I liked it," Hermione replied, and the goofy smile re-entered his face. He leaned down to her, and whispered against her face in a deeper tone,

"Could we do it again? I get to start it this time, by the way," he added with a laugh.

She felt her heart skip a beat, and flipped over, straddling his legs. She had no idea where her confidence had come from, but she looked into his eyes and nodded. He captured her lips with his. It was passionate, fiery and sensual, and she loved it. It was romantic and wonderful, and Ron...well, Ron was perfect. Finally, they had to come up for air, and Ron couldn't hold it in anymore,

"I love you, Hermione," best. Moment. Ever, she thought.

"I love you too, Ron," it felt so good to say that.

A smile lit up Ron's face, and he looked back into her eyes. Merlin, she was gorgeous. She had no idea what she did to him. Her warm brown eyes, bushy hair pulled back, with a few stray ones that escaped the plait falling about her face. She wore jeans and a t-shirt, but she was still beautiful. He knew he wouldn't be able to go on without her. And she loved him! Suddenly shy again, he looked up at her. "We're, uhh, together now, aren't we?"

She laughed again, "I should hope so," and leaned in to kiss him again.

He pulled her hair out of its plait and ran his fingers through it, keeping another arm around her waist. She leaned up and locked her fingers into his hair. Finally, they came up for air.

"Come on, let's go find Harry," and she pulled him up, before they walked to the castle hand in hand.

Harry watched his friends walking together up to the castle, and felt joy and jealousy fuel him. They were finally together, his best mates loved each other, and he couldn't be happier. But he still had to win Ginny back, and he knew it was going to be a challenge.

As they reached him, he spoke. "You guys are together now?" he said bluntly, a smile tugging at his lips.

Ron put on his goofy smile, and Hermione blushed, biting her lower lip, but then looked up and nodded, smiling. Harry hugged them both, and told them, "I'm so happy for you guys. That was one hell of a kiss," he broke away and laughed. They joined in.

Together, they walked up to the new Headmistress' office. Ron broke the silence.

"Harry, mate, what are we going to tell them?"

"Everything. Kingsley can decide what the rest of the world should hear. We have to make a speech tomorrow, and I'm letting Kingsley decide what we can and cannot tell people. It makes everything a hell of a lot easier," Harry replied easily.

"Bloody hell, I can't believe people are gonna know about these horcruxes."

"Ron," Hermione interjected, "I guarantee that's the thing Kingsley is going to tell us to not tell them about."

"Exactly," Harry replied. They reached the stone gargoyle. "Alright, let's go."

And up they went. For the second time that day, they relayed the story of the past nine months. Both Kingsley and McGonagall listened in awe, and by the end, they were praised on their bravery again and again. Then approached the hard part.

"So, Minister, what are we telling them tomorrow, exactly?" Hermione asked.

"Practically none of that. And please, call me Kingsley again. We're leaving out, in no particular order, just about everything. We tell them you went on the run because you were being hunted down. You broke into the Ministry to get information. You broke into Gringotts because you needed gold, and were planning on retrieving it from your vault. That will work, Harry, because your parents vault is quite high-profile as well. You came back to Hogwarts because you thought you were finally ready to take down Riddle. We're calling him that now, no more of that Voldemort business. You went into the forest because you wanted to cease fighting, pretended to be dead so you could catch him off guard, and defeated him because the wand was not truly his. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," Harry responded. He looked to his friends, and they nodded in agreement.

"Excellent. So you will be speaking both to the press, and at the memorial, correct?" Kingsley asked.

"Yes, I will. I want to thank everyone who fought, and clear those wrongly accused, like Snape. I need to give everyone the truth. They deserve it."

"That's very brave of you, Harry. Congratulations, again. And thank you. Until tomorrow," Kinglsey stood and nodded.

"Goodbye, Minister, Professor," Harry, Ron, and Hermione bid farewell.

Harry separated from his friends, on a quest to find Ginny. He headed out of to the grounds and found her sitting on the edge of the lake. Coming up behind her, he grabbed her hand. She turned and smiled at him.

"Come on, Gin, let's go," and he pulled her up to walk around the lake.

They walked in silence for a bit, hand in hand, and Harry looked to the left to admire her. Ginny wore shorts, trainers, and her Weasley sweater, and she looked beautiful. The breeze came in, and her cheeks flushed as her fiery red hair blew out behind her, and her bright eyes absorbed the light from the setting sun, making them sparkle. He sucked in a breath.

She looked at him, puzzled. "What?" she asked.

"You... you look fantastic, Ginny."

"Really?" she smiled brightly, "Thanks, I guess," she let out a bubbly laugh.

He took away his hand and turned her to face him, looking into her eyes, and he pushed a piece of long red hair behind her ear. "Really, Ginny, you look beautiful."

She blushed again, and Harry smiled, pulling her closer and placing his hands on her waist.

"Thank you," Ginny whispered, and then placed her hands on his chest, reached up, and kissed him passionately.

Harry snapped out of his awe of Ginny, and back into reality. Except it wasn't, because reality isn't this amazing. He melted into the kiss, holding her close, feeling happier than he's been for the eight months. She pulled back only slightly, and he kept her in his arms and told her everything,

"Listen, Ginny, I'm so sorry I left you last year. You...you have to know that you mean everything to me, Gin. Please tell me you get that. I love you, Ginny, so, so much and I really-" she cut him off, capturing his lips with hers again. Then, she responded,

"Oh Harry, don't be stupid. I love you too." She kissed him again.

A/N 2: Whoo! That was a lot longer than I thought it would be. The next one won't be that long, promise. Unless you like them like this... I'm thinking around midway between the amount of words in the last and this one, well never mind. They'll be as long of short as necessary :) in reward for getting through all that, sneak peek!, the next chapter is called "remembrance," and will be the memorials and press conference, featuring Teddy Lupin! And the chapter after that will either be called "aftermath," or "that first week of peace," and will be about recovery and future and such. What he wants to do this year, meeting at Gringotts, heading back to the burrow and looking to the future. That chapter will include more of the other couples, promise, particularly more George/Percy. Thanks again! Review! I hope you liked it!