Title: The title of your story

For: Caveat Lector 52 (Kayla)

House: Gryffindor

Name: CityGirl419 (Dest)

For: Kayla! Hope you have a great Holiday!

Harry was drained in every way possible. Emotionally. Physically. Spiritually. Just so drained. He was not even sure what he was doing at the moment. The only thing he knew was that he couldn't get himself to go to bed. Not quite yet. Voldemort was gone. He was dead, and he wouldn't be coming back. Harry was sure of it this time...but there was all of the damage to look at. The sights he was about to see were going to be tragic and terrible, but Harry felt that it was something that he needed to do by himself. He couldn't help but think about the fact that he was to blame for most of the deaths and injuries that happened during the war. No. Not most. Not even close. All of the casualties were his fault. Every. Single. One.

Walking around and glancing at everyone that was affected by the battle made him realize what had truly happened. If he had thought about it enough, he would have known that it was really Voldemort's problem. Harry wasn't the one that created this mess. He wasn't the one that wanted world dominance so badly that he was willing to kill anyone that got in his way. He wanted the world to be happy. He wanted to walk through the halls of Hogwarts and be able to look at everyone and see them smiling back at him. However, that wasn't what Harry focused on. He focused on the fact that if he had never been fated to be the downfall of Voldemort, his parents would be alive. Sirius would be alive. Cedric, Moody, Hedwig, so many others. Someday, maybe, he might finally be able to look back at the wreckage and see that it was for the better in the end. This obviously wouldn't be that day.

Most people were in the Great Hall relaxing. Harry looked in through the door and saw his friends. Well, the people he hoped were still his friends. Ron and Hermione were sitting off by themselves. Ron was sobbing, most likely over the loss of Fred. Harry was trying not to think of that. He wasn't Fred's best friend, but he was close enough that it hurt. The Weasleys had basically adopted him, so it almost felt like he had lost a brother. It hurt even more to look at Tonks and Lupin lying next to each other on the hard ground. Cold ground matching the cold bodies. Dead. Remus Lupin was the first man that Harry had ever truly looked up to. Meeting Lupin at the beginning of his third year, Sirius didn't come in until the end, meant that he had a personal link to his parents. As Harry got to know him more, the more of a mentor he became. Lupin left after that year, but Harry never dwindled in the respect he held for that man. It didn't matter that he was a werewolf. The only time that respect came close to wavering was when Lupin got scared and almost abandoned a pregnant Tonks. But Harry was there to remind him that he truly was a great man. Even in death, Harry would never forget him. In his mind, that was what was probably going to hurt the most. Harry was going to have all these memories of his brave father and his quirky mother, but their son was never going to have any. Teddy was going to grow up an orphan like Harry, and his heart ached for the tiny baby who, for the moment, remained clueless.

Neville and Luna were sitting at a table together like a little spot of sunshine in a storm. Neville had cut his forehead, and Luna was bandaging up the slightly gaping wound for him. Even through the blood that was staining his face, Neville obviously cared for Luna, judging by his expression. Harry thought they made a cute couple, if only either of them would buck up and make a move. Maybe eventually they would get there. Like most things, it would just take a bit.

Everything in the Wizarding world would need fixing. Everything would need to be pieced back together after everything had been blown apart. The past few years had really caused havoc in Harry's world, and it was hard for him to even picture a future where everything was all better again. His mind would only let him focus on one thing that desperately needed fixing: Hogwarts. He would help rebuild the school. The young kids needed a safe haven to come and learn magic. Though, Harry supposed, there wouldn't be much danger anymore to shield children from, nothing like Voldemort. He was sure there was something out there that could harm them, but that was just how the world worked. There would always be another danger lurking in the darkness.

Harry thought that catching the escaped Death Eaters would have to be his top priority, right above fixing Hogwarts. When he wasn't rebuilding, he would have to be helping the remaining Aurors catch the little bastards. He would personally see to it that the rest of them would rot in Azkaban for what they had done. At this, Harry's mind jumped to Draco and his family. He thought that maybe he would have enough self-control to let them remain as-is. After all, Narcissa was the reason his plan had gone the way he wanted it to. She was the only reason he wasn't killed on spot in the forest. Narcissa knew he was alive, but she wasn't loyal to Voldemort. The only thing she had cared about was Draco being safe. Which, because of Harry, he was. Harry was positive there were people out there that would want the Malfoys locked away forever, maybe even killed or kissed by a dementor. There was something that told Harry that wasn't a battle Harry wanted to have. Lucius deserved it for sure, maybe even Draco, if Harry sat back and thought about all the bad he had done, but Narcissa was in it because of her love for the two men. Harry had to respect her for that.

After looking through the entire Hall, Harry still wasn't sure what he was searching for. He just wanted some kind of closure and he hadn't gotten it yet. He really didn't think that he was ever going to. When he left the hall, he saw Arthur and Molly just outside. Molly kindly smiled at him, and just the sight of that motherly smile warmed him to the core, and probably always would. Harry thought that even though he never really had a family bonded by genetics, he had the Weasley family and all of his friends (that were still alive), and that was pretty damn good.

Seeing those two redheads reminded Harry of Ginny. He knew he had hurt her by saying goodbye, but if he was going to die, he didn't want her to be put in danger too. He looked back now and knew he was stupid. Saying goodbye to her wasn't going to change anything. Voldemort and the Death Eaters already knew that she was close to him. She would have been in danger either way. Breaking up with her just hurt both of the them in the long run. Now that it was over, however, Harry could start anew with her. He could have long nights of Wizard's Chess and Quidditch with Ron. He still had Hermione, his friend that stuck with him through every single high and low, and he couldn't wait to sit and talk to her about any and every thing that popped into his mind. Things were going to be alright. Voldemort was gone. Everyone was safe now.