Harry Potter woke up to the sound of soft snores, which he knew belonged to his best mate, Ron. Harry had gotten used to the sounds his best friend made during the many days they had spent camping together while hunting Horcruxes. However, what he had not expected to see was his other best friend, Hermione, cuddled close together with Ron, both of them sleeping peacefully in a narrow four-poster bed.

Harry shook his untidy head of hair and sat up slowly, feeling every muscle in his body sing with a dull ache. He rubbed his crusty eyelids and fumbled in his covers for his wand. Once his hands closed around the familiar holly stick, he silently called his glasses to him. Now able to see things more clearly, Harry glanced again towards his best friends, who seemed to be catching up on months of slumber. It seemed that Hermione had climbed into Ron's bed sometime after Harry had gone to sleep. Maybe a few months ago, Harry would have been annoyed at the closeness that his best friends shared, but he could now accept that they deserved each other. They had given him a lot of their time, after all. The least he could do in return was let them finally be together, even if that meant that he felt a bit lonely around them now.

And he did feel it, lonely. He knew that if he were to walk outside the four walls of his dormitory, there was an entire wizarding world waiting to welcome him with love and admiration. But he knew that even an adoring crowd would never make him feel any less lonely.

Maybe it had something to do with Voldemort no longer sharing his mind, or maybe it was because Harry no longer felt that he had a purpose, but he knew that he felt intense isolation. While for others, this war may have been a part of their lives, for Harry, the end of the war meant an end to his destiny. He was meant to defeat Voldemort, he had now done it. Now what?

Harry took a deep breath, one that made his ribs singe with pain, and shuffled out of his bed. Now that he was awake, he wanted to put himself into motion. He would take a bath, change into fresh clothes (Hermione's beaded bag should be close by somewhere), and then maybe eat some of the leftover sandwiches that Kreacher had brought him a few hours ago.

By the time Harry had taken a hot shower and changed into a fresh pair of jeans and a shirt, his thoughts had wandered back to the world outside. He knew he wanted to see her, Ginny, his best source of comfort. He had last seen her in the Great Hall, sitting in her mother's embrace. He thought of Ginny and all the months he had spent missing her came crashing down on him and he felt her absence like a stomach ache. But Harry had spent all of his bravery. The last thing he wanted was to venture into the Great Hall and look other people in the eyes, least of all the Weasleys, who had just lost one of their sons.

Harry thought of Fred and felt his heart ache. He knew that he wasn't responsible for the deaths during the battle, but he couldn't help but feel a heavy burden of guilt - no, it was better to leave the Weasleys alone to grieve. He couldn't make it about himself, no matter how acutely he had missed their daughter for the last nine months, not even if he felt like the only thing he knew about his future now was that he wanted her in it.

Harry reached for the plate of stale sandwiches, wondering if he should call Kreacher back for some fresh food, but then decided against it. He balanced the food and a glass of pumpkin juice in his hands, and quietly exited the dormitory, hoping to let his best friends get a few more hours of sleep. It was only when he was at the last step down to the common room that he saw her hair - shining red and gold in front of the fireplace.

Harry's heart stopped. Here she was, sitting quite alone, perhaps even waiting for him, Harry thought. Harry breathed as silently as he could and kept his food down at the nearest table to not catch the attention of one Ginny Weasley, who was perched on a chair facing away from him.

Harry contemplated running away. He felt like a coward. He knew that their breakup had been something done solely to protect Ginny, but he wondered if she had moved on from him.

No, you haven't moved on, have you? Maybe she hasn't either!

So Harry stood awkwardly, with one foot in the air, while he struggled to decide whether he wanted to walk towards the girl he wanted to see with all his heart or if he wanted to run and hide. But before he could make up his mind, Ginny turned, as if she had felt his hesitation in the air. Her eyes locked into his and Harry stumbled and took a shaky step in her direction. Having been caught now, he decided to walk up to her and silently take a seat on the sofa next to her chair.

Both of them remained quiet for a while. Ginny shifted hesitantly in her seat, twirling her robes in her fingers. Harry took the chance to study her - her brilliantly red hair was held back in an untidy ponytail that seemed hours old, her eyes looked red and puffy, no doubt from having shed many tears in recent hours, and her face had blood and dirt caked in different spots. Harry spotted a gash across her cheek, which was still oozing fresh blood.

Despite everything, Harry found himself blinded by her beauty like he almost always did. He wanted to clutch Ginny to his chest, and perhaps take her back to his bed to sleep, to shut himself away from the world, with only her to keep him company.

Harry knew he needed to say something, but he found himself at a loss around her. He had never been good with words, much less with her than anyone else in his life.

"So, erm, how are you?" Harry asked finally, wincing at how dumb he must sound to her.

Ginny looked up in surprise. A moment passed and he saw her lips twist up in a smirk.

"You've just killed Voldemort, you are now the most famous wizard in the whole world, there is probably an Order of Merlin, First Class being prepared for you right now." Harry saw a small teasing twinkle in her eye as she would get in the few weeks they dated. "I'm sure you can do better than how are you."

Harry swallowed. "Erm, I don't know if I want an Order of Merlin, wouldn't it be peaking too early?" He offered, thankful that she had yet again rescued him from his awkwardness.

Ginny chuckled lightly, "I'm sorry to say, Mr. Potter, I think you already peaked last night. Now the rest of your life should be downright boring."

"Good, I think I could use a little boring." Harry found himself smiling. When he saw that Ginny returned his smile, he felt a bit braver and inched himself across the sofa closer to her. Before he could second guess it, he took her hand in his.

Ginny looked a bit surprised but quickly regained her guarded expression. Harry wanted to say so much to her - tell her how he pined for her, tell her how he spent months wishing they were together, how he still liked her and wanted to be together more than anything. But he couldn't find the words, again. So he just squeezed her hand, hoping that he could pass on his unsaid feelings through his skin.

Ginny squeezed back.

"I just have two questions for you." She asked, looking down at where their fingers met.

Harry knew he had to tell her a lot - bare his secrets to her that he held back for years. She deserved to know. She needed to know why he had left her behind. He wanted to tell her, share every dark secret, and then maybe he would feel lighter. And then maybe they could move on together. So he hummed and waited for her to ask.

"Were you dead?" Ginny asked in a small voice.

Harry nodded. When he saw that she was still looking down at their hands, he replied in a small voice, "Yes. But only for a bit."

Ginny looked up and Harry saw one tear rolling down her eye. She used her sleeve to wipe her face and nodded.

"Okay." She said. Harry held his breath and waited for her next question.

"Did you meet any Veela when you were off doing whatever you were doing?"

Harry felt a small smile come up to his lips.

"No, there weren't any Veelas." He confirmed. Ginny smiled as well, making Harry's insides flutter. He pressed on with some hidden bout of bravery. "I was anyway too busy obsessing over this redhead waiting for me back home."

Ginny's eyes lit up at that. She let out a little chuckle.

"Confident, are we, Potter?" She teased.

"Hopeful." He said.

Before he could say much more, Ginny got up from her chair and without breaking the contact at their hands, quickly deposited herself next to Harry. She pulled him into a fierce hug and Harry found himself hurting again - from the deaths, the months spent apart, the uncertainty of the future. She held him with all the comfort that she could give him and Harry nuzzled into her hair. She was everything - all the dreams, hopes, and laughter combined into one. And then, he felt a little less lonely - because at least he had somehow found his way back to her.

"Harry," Ginny whispered into his neck, without breaking their embrace. "I want you to know that I am furious at you for a lot of things. You'll have to pay for every one." Harry smiled into her hair. He wouldn't have had it any other way. He was lucky enough to be with Ginny Weasley again - he would pay for all his crimes, provided he never had to be without her anymore. He hummed his consent.

"I'm going to have you make it up to me for the rest of our lives." She said, with a tinge of warning in her tone. Harry pulled himself back and looked at her eyes, clouded with unshed tears. He realised that he was close to tears too. He swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded.

"That sounds like a plan."

A few hours later, when Mrs. Weasley wandered into the Gryffindor common room to find the rest of her family, she found her daughter sleeping in the arms of Harry Potter, their hands still clasped in each other's.