QL - Prophet Chain Challenge - Pride of Portree, Beater 2.

First Line: They finally got their happy ever after.

Word Count: 1495

Beta(s): CupCakeyyy; secretfanficlover; S. Lowelle.

They finally got their happy ever after. Or, so everybody said. It was a common phrase which the golden trio felt was overused and very untrue. They were still going through a normal life; just because they had ended that of Voldemort didn't mean they were now living a fairytale. It was quite the opposite actually.

Harry bolted up in his bed, his wand drawn and breath shallow. It took him a few seconds to calm down and to acknowledge that there wasn't any immediate danger. It had likely been a noise from outside - despite knowing that he wasn't in danger, he still had to get out of his bed at 2:31 in the morning and check. Look in every room to check nobody had broken in, check outside to ensure there wasn't anybody lurking.

And even after he was sure everything was clear, half the time he couldn't get back to sleep after a nightmare. Because the things in his nightmares had occurred in real life, some merely months ago, it wasn't so easy to convince him that it had just been a bad dream.

One of his most prominent nightmares included his death.

Should he have survived? Or perhaps he had been meant to take his last breath with Voldemort. Two souls connected… but now they weren't? Unknowingly, that deranged individual had been part of him since he was a baby, changing who he was at his very core. There had been several things that he had thought or gone through because of this… and now… Harry wasn't sure he knew who he really was.

Everybody had just left him to it.

Thanks for saving the world! See ya later!

Where was his guidance? His help? How was he supposed to discover who he was now?

As Harry made himself a hot chocolate, he wondered if he would ever find his happily ever after, and if he did, would he know?

The burning of the hot chocolate on his tongue was a welcomed feeling - he could control this. For the first time in his life, he had full control of his life. Where he lived, what he did, what he was expected to do. All of that was up to him.

Harry had relied on Ron way too much and therefore had agreed to become an Auror alongside him. This was a good path, it gave him something to do during the day - but did he want to carry on fighting? If his life hadn't been intertwined with Voldemort's, would he have had the desire to become an Auror? Or would he have wanted to be a Quidditch player, or a healer, or maybe even a professor? But it was too late for that, there was no use debating what his life may have been if something had been different. You can't change the past… or could you?

Berating himself for such an irrational thought, Harry stood up and paced around the kitchen. These sleepless nights were slowly taking a toll on him and he honestly was not sure what he could do to help himself. He was getting worse and he knew it, he just didn't know what to do about it.

He wished Hermione was around, she'd know what to do. Or even Ginny, he always slept well next to her after the war. But both of them were gone, they were at Hogwarts.

His decision to not return was one he had debated a lot about. He had felt ready to move on and even had a career set; there were so many bad memories there, but also so many good ones. It really was a bittersweet place now.

However, being alone in his Godfather's old home felt wrong. Right now, all he wanted was his friends.

Harry walked over to the floo system, the Weasley's Burrow on his lips when he remembered that Ron was working overnight with the Aurors - a stake-out. Already holding the floo powder in his right hand, he changed the location to Hogsmeade and stepped into the green flames.

The bar had a few occupants and they all acknowledged his presence, but none uttered a word. He might have saved their lives directly, or indirectly, and they knew that, but it didn't make them friends. With a smile at them, he made his way out into the cold December night and began the long walk to Hogwarts.

It was only on this walk that he realised that he may not be allowed entry into the school - he might be rejected from the place he thought of as his home. Every step he took got slower, more hesitant in this spontaneous arrival. Was he this kind of person - the one who jumped in headfirst without thinking? Did he want to be that kind of person?

A sigh left his lips as he finally saw his home - his former home - in sight. He had made it, but would this be the end of his journey?

Did he come all this way for nothing?

Would Hermione and Ginny want to be interrupted? Who would be pleased to see him? He wasn't sure anymore. Doubt was seeping into his very bones until his feet stopped moving altogether and he stood rooted on the cobbled path leading to the castle.

"Potter?"

His neck muscles cramped up as Harry turned towards the voice and his hand jerked towards his wand. "Professor Flitwick," he responded as a gush of air left his lungs. He was relieved to see his old professor, however, his lungs still felt restrained at the possibility that he'd be turned away. "How are you?"

"Very well," he replied with his usual smile. "I wasn't expecting to see you here, come on in."

"In," he muttered as he allowed his legs to follow the professor. He had been allowed access to his home - that didn't change.

Harry couldn't help smiling as he made his way into the building, feeling more content than he had in weeks, or even months. Being back to the first safe place that he could ever remember really was the best.

Flitwick had led him to some guest quarters - he didn't know they even existed - and said he'd get some clothes sent up for the morning. Harry suddenly realised that it must have been obvious that he simply threw a cloak over his pyjamas - he really hadn't been thinking clearly. He had gone to Ron's house countless times in just his nightwear in the middle of the night - so he hadn't been thinking of his clothing situation when he had changed destinations.

He thanked the professor and laid down on the comfortable, safe bed for merely two minutes before falling asleep.

When Harry had woken up, he realised that he had slept in really late, so late, in fact, that he was already late for work. Perhaps he'll send an owl; he had just had the best sleep in months, he wasn't going to stress himself out by rushing to work. Besides, he came here to see his friends.

With a deep breath to keep himself calm and stop his thoughts from taking over, he slid out of the bed and dressed in the supplied - very well-fitting - clothes.

He walked out and found Professor McGonagall waiting patiently - Headmistress now, he corrected. "Good morning," he greeted after watching her transform out of her cat animagus.

"Good afternoon, Potter," she replied. "What brings you here in the middle of the night?"

Harry looked down, ashamed. "I just wanted to see my friends."

As he looked up at her, he simply knew that she understood what was going on with him. She had always been rather insightful. "Very well, they are currently in class, however, should be finishing for lunch in about twenty minutes. Let's head to the great hall - it would be good to get some food in you."

Harry couldn't stop the smile that made its way to his lips. "Yes, Professor."

The walk wasn't in silence, however, they didn't really talk about anything of substance. The thing that got to Harry, was when he was invited to sit at the professors' table as a guest. That really hit home: he was no longer a student.

Despite feeling strange sitting at the head table with McGonagall and eating with her, he felt like he belonged, somehow. Maybe it was being back in this place. Blinking, he stopped suddenly, his next bite of food - a bit of sausage - hovered on the end of his folk as he saw exactly who he had wanted to see all along. Hermione and Ginny, along with Neville, Dean, and Luna. They all walked into the Great Hall. He was surprised when it was Neville who noticed him first and told the others.

Harry didn't hesitate to stand up, circle around the table, and head towards his friends. Because they were all his friends. He understood that now.