Chapter 3: The Road to Recovery
The road to recovering from the war was long. After the final battle between Voldemort and I, the only people I really wanted to see were Ron and Hermione, as they were the two people who had experienced the past few months with me, and who knew and understood how I felt. Thankfully, Luna Lovegood knew that I didn't want a crowd of people surrounding me, so she distracted them by shouting, "Oooh, look, a Blibbering Humdinger!" and pointed out of the window, allowing me to disappear under my invisibility cloak. I passed by Ginny and her mother, but I knew I would have a lifetime to talk to her. Literally, because Ginny was the girl I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I just wish I had realized that sooner, instead of ignoring her love for me all those years.
I finally found Ron and Hermione, standing together in a corner of the Great Hall. Together, we went up to the Dumbledore's – well, at that point, McGonagall's – office, where we asked Dumbledore what to do with the Elder wand. Afterwards, everyone agreed that they were all exhausted, and that we should all go to sleep and worry about cleaning up. Everyone who had stayed to clean up found a now abandoned dorm, and all of the students slept in their old dorms.
I was the first one up the following morning. Since I didn't want to wake Ron, Neville, Dean, and Seamus, I quietly opened the door and slipped outside. Surprisingly, I looked downstairs in the Gryffindor common to see Ginny sitting alone on bottom step. She wasn't reading, or talking to anyone. She was just sitting. I crept downstairs, leaned over Ginny's shoulder, and gave her a kiss on the cheek making her jump.
"Harry!" she gasped, and kissed me back. We stayed like that for a few minutes, and I never wanted to leave her side again. When we finally broke away from each other, Ginny whispered, "You have no idea how worried I've been. Not only did I have my parents and brothers to worry about, but I also worried about you, too." Ginny blushed. "Don't tell Ron, but sometimes I found myself thinking more about you than I did him. I know I shouldn't have, knowing that we couldn't be together, but I just couldn't help it… I missed you so much. It was worse than in second year when I couldn't seem to do anything right around you. But when you went looking for horcuxes and I didn't know whether you were dead or alive… everything changed."
Ginny had tears flowing from her eyes, and it broke my heart to see her cry. I quickly wiped them away for her and said softly, "Don't worry, Ginny. We're here now, and we're finally together. I survived, Ron survived, and I'll never leave you again. Life will be just as it was before, only…"
Ginny looked at me expectantly. "Only… what?"
"Only… better, is what I was going to say. But Ginny, I feel so… wrong… saying that, with so many people dead… Tonks, Remus… Fred. All of them are gone."
"It's not your fault, Harry." Ginny whispered soothingly. "None of this is. Yes, Tonks and Remus… and Fred… all died, but there was no way any of us could have prevented their deaths. What worries me the most though, is how will George survive without Fred? I mean, we'll all miss Fred terribly, but what about George? He and Fred had a special connection, one that no one else could possibly have. The rest of my family and I will heal… eventually, but George… do you think he'll ever be the same?"
"I really don't know, Ginny" I sighed, and let Ginny cry into my shoulder.
We sat there for an half an hour, until I saw Ron at the top of the staircase. Ron saw us, and quickly retreated back from where he came from. Ginny didn't see her brother, but not long after he left, she lifted her head and wiped away her tears. "Alright, enough tears." She said, partly to herself. "Fred wouldn't want us to cry, so I'm done crying… at least for now anyway."
Suddenly, I remembered something. "Hey, Ginny, I know this isn't exactly the right time, but I never really got to ask you… Will you be my girlfriend? I promise to help you through this, and I will never leave your side again, unless you want me to."
Ginny smiled weakly. "Of course, I will." She said, and together we went to the Great Hall to see what needed to be done.
Sure enough, there was a lot that needed to be finished. Although McGonagall had set the house tables back up, the rest of the castle was just a mess. Some of the walls had been torn down by the Deatheaters, others even burned, and a lot of supplies had to be replaced. Everyone had hoped to reopen Hogwarts in September, but once everyone saw just how much damage there was, that hope began to fade. Most people thought Hogwarts could be open again sometime after Christmas, but by then, they might as well wait until the following school year to reopen. Hermione, Ron, and I were told by McGonagall, who was now Headmistress, that we could returned to Hogwarts to complete our N.E.W.T.S if we wanted to, but it wasn't necessary. Only Hermione, being the good student she was, wanted to do so. It would be the longest period of time Ron, Hermione and I would be apart since our first year. At least Hermione would have Ginny and Luna to keep her company, as they were a year below us in school.
Ginny! That's when I came to the disappointing realization that Ginny would have to return to Hogwarts for her seventh year when it reopened, and since I had already made the decision to graduate, I couldn't come with her. I felt like I was breaking my promise to her when I said I'd never leave her side again, but there was nothing I could do about it. Ginny had more important things to worry about than returning to Hogwarts, anyway.
The entire Weasley family was grieving Fred's death, but luckily they had each other for comfort. Eventually, the pain of Fred's death would ease, although the family would miss Fred terribly. The person everyone worried about, though, was George. George was in the first stage of what muggles call the "five stages of grief", denial. Every time someone mentioned Fred, George would scream, "He's not dead!", and bolt from the room. Lee Jordan, the twins' best friend, who had been sharing a dorm with George, reported him waking up from nightmares, once again convinced that Fred was still alive. In a panic, George would search the room for his twin. When Fred was nowhere to be found, George would often burst into tears. Lee knew his friend was far from well, and it worried him.
After about a week or so, George's denial turned into turned into anger. He was angry at everyone, himself for not dying instead, Percy for not saving Fred when he was standing right there next to him, me for dropping the resurrection stone in the forbidden forest, and even Fred for dying in the first time. After awhile, George began asking questions along the lines of "Why wasn't it me?", or "What did Fred ever do to deserve this?"
Depression soon took the place of anger. By July, George rarely talked to anyone, let alone laughed, and he never ate unless Molly practically forced food down his throat. He often spent hours alone.
It was on my birthday that Molly finally had enough. We were eating dinner in the Great Hall, and as usual, George didn't say much. Molly had to ask him to pass the mashed potatoes three times before she finally snapped. "That's it!" George stared at her in surprise. "I've had enough, George! All of us miss Fred, but we can't forget to continue with our lives. Fred wouldn't want us to die with him. And what about that joke shop of yours? If you don't return to the store soon, you will lose it all of yours and Fred's dreams will be flushed away. Fred would be so proud of you, and trust me, he wouldn't want you to give up. Honestly, I sometimes I feel like I've lost two sons, not one. Please, get a hold of yourself, George. For me… and for Fred."
George was silent for a moment. "You're right, Mum." He finally answered. "I'm sorry everyone."
After Hogwarts was ready to reopen, George went back to Weasley Wizard Wheezes and reopened it. Over the next few years, the store became very successful. Yes, the road to recovery is long, but it does end. It just takes a lot of healing and comforting from family and friends.