Chapter Text
Harry still had not got his head round the last few days. It seemed so unreal that a couple of days had passed since the battle for Hogwarts.
The damage to the school was so unreal it would take ages to repair even with lots of wizards and witches using Reparo. He intended to help with the repairs when the opportunity arose.
He couldn't help thinking about what happened in the battle. How many times him and his friends had come close to be overwhelmed and nearly killed.
The thing that kept coming to mind was his fight with Tom Riddle aka Lord Voldermort.
The thought of when he had to go to the Forbidden Forest to face Voldermort so that the Horcrux that Voldermort had unexpectedly and without knowing made inside Harry could be destroyed.
He remembered how even though he was trying to be strong and not show any weakness in front of Voldermort and the Death Eaters, he was scared shitless and worried because he didn't know if he was going to live after Voldermort killed him to get rid of the Horcrux.
After his talk with Professor Dumbledore, it filled Harry with dread knowing that he had to face Voldermort again not knowing if Nagini had been killed.
After he came back to life having chosen to come back instead of going with Dumbledore, Harry knew he had to fake his death to get back into Hogwarts.
He remembered how he had to lay in Hagrid's arms listening to Voldermort offer the Hogwarts defenders a truce if they surrendered. It broke his heart when he heard Ginny cried out when she saw his body.
Once Neville had stood up to Voldermort and pulls the Sword of Griffindor out of the sorting hat, Harry decided enough was enough and escaped under the invisibility cloak. He finally revealed himself to Voldermort feeling a bit more confident and less nervous.
When he started the duel,having told Voldermort the truth about what happened with the Elderwand he shouted Expeliarmus, but he didn't think that it would go back towards Voldermort and push back the Avada Kedavra killing curse and kill him.
Harry 2 days later, still couldn't believe that it had happened, the events after Harry had killed Voldermort seemed to go past in a flash.
The Death Eaters who were still standing stopped fighting and stared first at Voldermorts body, then at Harry and decided against staying and disapparated away quickly before they could be captured. The few who were to slow were quickly stopped by some of the defenders using the Petrificus Totalus curse and Incarcerous to keep them in place and trapped.
After the battle and the Death Eaters had been taken away, all the survivors of the battle gathered in the great hall.
Everyone had gathered there to recuperate and mourn all of those that had been killed in the battle.
Harry had joined them for a while but kept thinking, now that he had the Elderwand what was he going to do with it.
He thought about the possibilities but also the risks of keeping the Elderwand.
He was really tempted to keep it but wasn't sure if it was a good idea.
He went in search for Ron and Hermione who would know what he should do. He found them near the rest of Weasley's.
“Come with me I want to talk to you.”
Ron and Hermione looked up confused but followed Harry out of the great hall towards the lake.
“Are you alright mate, why do you need to talk to us?” Ron asked.
Harry turned round and stopped not far from Dumbledore's tomb.
“I'm in a bit of a dilemma guys, now that its all over and Voldermort has been defeated, I've now been left with the Elderwand and part of me wants to keep hold of it and use it but I also know the risks I don't know what to do?”
Ron and Hermione looked at each other not sure how to respond at first
After a few moment Hermione responded with.
“Harry, Dumbledore would of wanted you to do what you thought was right. He would understand either way if you choose to keep it or not. You know both the positives and the risks keeping it, its down to you to do what you think is right.”
Ron added “but it would be rather cool if you did, you would be almost unstoppable.
Harry turned round and walked over to Dumbledore's tomb and looked down at his face. He looked so peaceful it almost like he was sleeping. He turned to look at his two best friends.
“He from the start always believed in me. He always tried to push me and encourage me to be the best I could be.”
He stood there silent thinking. He came to a decision. He would want to honour Dumbledore's legacy and protect Hogwarts and the known world.
“I want to honour Dumbledore's legacy and I know he would tell me to do the right thing. I don't want anyone to get their hands on it and use it for the wrong reasons so I will speak to McGonagall and see if we can put it in a special protected case and hide it somewhere where only us and McGonagall know where it is.”
But as he said this he didn't think that would be the right decision. He considered the possibility of maybe combining his own wand with the Elderwand.
He looked up at his two best friends seeing them exchange a look.
“Harry I'm sure McGonagall will think that's a good idea though instead of just anywhere, why don't we hide it where noone will know and maybe put a fake one in another location so people who go looking for it will be fooled.”
Harry remembered while at home at Grimmauld Place. He had arrived home the day before after a couple of days staying at Hogwarts. He found the place in a mess from when the Death Eaters had ransacked it.
He hadn't really spoken to anyone since his chat with Ron and Hermione and they hadn't mentioned the Elderwand but they hadn't known his decision or his convastion with McGonagall.
He didn't know what to say to anyone but he knew it was going to take some time for everyone to get back to some normality.
He was sat on his settee when he suddenly heard a tap tap tap on the window.
There perched on sill were 2 owls.
One Great Gray Owl who Harry recognised as Ron's family owl named Errol and an eagle owl who Harry didn't recognise.
Both owls were staring at him as if to say”hurry up open the window.”
Harry hurried over to the window and opened it and both owls hopped in.
Though it was more like the unknown owl hopped in and Errol tried to follow but tripped over his own feet and fell off the window on to the living room floor.
Harry quickly picked Errol up and gave them both some nuts and berries and took the letters off Errol and the owls legs.
Harry recognised Ron's handwriting straight away and knew he had guessed right but he didn't recognised the other handwriting so he went back to the settee to read as he was curious what was in both letters.
The Burrow
Meanwhile at the Burrow things were a bit tense.
Everyone was on edge. After they had all returned home, they still had to clear the carnage that the death eaters had left after Fleur and Bill's wedding.
Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Arthur and Molly Weasley were busy tidying and fixing the last part of the house which was the living room.
All of them were still feeling battered and bruised from the battle.
But the worst for them was having lost Fred.
They hadn't really spoken about what happened and how close everyone had come to losing their lives.
The worst affected was Ginny. She hadn't got over the affects of the war and the people they lost but what affected her and the rest of her family was the death of her brother Fred.
Even though Fred used to annoy her, wind her up and play pranks on her, she still loved him. The thought of never seeing him again really hurt her.
While everyone was talking and trying to keep their mind off the war and the losses, Ginny was struggling internally.
For the last few days, she was trying to hold it together for her mum and dad but when she was alone she felt very down.
She sat in her room trying not to let it get to her but everytime she tried she kept crying and thinking how did she survive this.
But most of all she was missing Harry which was making her feelings worse.
They had broken up a year ago after Dumbledore's death and she understood why he had done it but had still hurt her.
During the past year she was trying her best to move on, but she couldn't mainly due to the Carrow siblings Amycus and Alecto, and the fact she was still in love with Harry.
Despite everything that the Carrows put her through, making her life a living hell she managed to escape and go into hiding all the while she kept wondering where Harry was.
It was then that she slowly started to feel the effects of stress and anxiety. The torment the Carrows had put her under had made her start questioning herself and feeling down.
What helped her get through it all was her willpower to survive and her family.
The next day the Weasleys and Hermione were sat round the kitchen table, talking about the plans and funeral arrangements for Fred.
“So I know the war has not long ended that long ago, but we have to try to get on with stuff” Molly was saying.
“We will in the next few weeks have to attend a lot of funerals some harder than others but we will pull together and be there for one another. The hardest part would be Fred's funeral I know but i'm sure he would have been have happy knowing we stayed strong and united together.” Molly finished tearfully.
Ginny looked up from her of Shedded Wheats. She looked at her mum with a mixture of sadness and anger.
She was struggling cause she knew her mum was right, but it made it worse that she didn't have harry with her, to be in his arms in comfort.
The next few days went like a blur and she did nothing more than eat and sleep, that it got that bad that Hermione and Ron got very worried.
They corned her one afternoon in the garden where she sat underneath her favourite tree.
“Ginny there you are been wondering where you had got off to. Myself and your brother are concerned and worried about you.” Hermione asked.
Ginny looked up from the book she was trying to read it was one of her favourites a fantasy love story but was having trouble focusing on the words.
“I'm fine guys you don't need to worry about me.”
“Gin clearly there is something wrong I know were all still coming to terms with Fred's death and we got to stand united togther and look after each other he would of wanted us to.” Ron answered.
“Guys honestly i'm fine i'm trying to get on with things like mum said.” Ginny said.
Both Ron and Hermione looked at each other they could clearly see Ginny was still not ok but didn't want to talk to them so they changed the subject to safer topics.
That evening Arthur stood up from his chair at the dining room table.
“Kingsley has announced that he will be sorting out a task force to help repair Hogwarts and get rid of any spells that any of death eaters has left behind. She has sent one of the school owls to see if there was anyone wanted to come and help.” Here he stopped to let them take in what he said.
“He has asked those of us at the ministry to help but anybody would be a big welcome and might also be a big distraction for now.”
Percy, Charlie and Bill who had popped over that evening sat up straight away and said together.
“We'll go and help at Hogwarts Mineva will need all the extra hands to make sure the castle is definatly safe.”
Ron, Hermione, Ginny and George looked at each other not sure if they should or not. Eventually after given it some thought and speaking to Hermione Ron replied.
“We'll do it hopefully we do something to help though I do wonder if Harry has been sent a letter to ask if he could help.”
Arthur said “i'll send Errol in the morning to Kingsley to let him know who will be helping and Ron can you write a letter to Harry and see whats his doing.”
Ginny thought about whether she volunteer to help to help distract her while she was suffering with what she didn't know. She made her mind up and was about to say she would help when her mother sent her a glare.
“Don't you dare Ginevra Molly Weasley. You already disobeyed me during the battle for Hogwarts when I told you to stay in the room of requirement and you were nearly killed. You are still under 17 so you will be staying here with me and prepare help me sort arrangements for the Fred's funeral which will be in a couple of weeks.”
Ginny sent her mum a glare but knew better than to argue with her mum but she hated the idea that almost everyone would be going to help and she was stuck at home. But it upset her she couldn't do anything to distract her from how she was feeling.
She excused herself and locked herself in her bedroom while crying. Ron meanwhile looked towards the staircase and went to move to go see if Ginny was ok but Hermione shook her said saying.
“Lets give her some space Ron we know she's not ok but she also she doesn't want to talk she'll hopefully talk to someone eventually.”
Ginny laid on her pillow staring into space wishing Harry could be there. Even though they never really got far with their relaionship she wanted to lay next to him in some comfort. Her last thought before she went to sleep was what he was doing and when would she see him again.
At Grimmauld Place
Harry stared at the letters not sure which one to open first, he was curious about both but he decided to open the unknown letter.
On the back of the letter was the Hogwarts logo which Harry broke the seal wondering what McGonagall wanted.
Dear Harry
Hope you I find you well, as well to expected in these times after the war.
I am writing to you because I have asked Kingsley Shaklebolt to sort a task force to come sort Hogwarts out.
He is in charge of making sure there are no more dark magic or any other suprises that the Death Eaters might have left lurking round the castle.
The Auror department is sending the surviving Aurors to help support but is looking for volunteers to help.
I am asking you myself because I think you might want to help. I'm hoping that once it's all done and fixed we would be able to reopen the school in 3 months time in September.
Please send me your reply with this owl.
Sincerely
Minerva McGonagall
Headmistress of Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Harry reread it twice and wrote down a quick note to Minerva saying that he will send a letter to Kingsley to confirm that he will help and be joining them in a couple of weeks to start repairing Hogwarts.
What he didn't write was that he also was thinking he was going to ask Kingsley could he become an Auror but he still hadn't made his mind up.
Harry turned to Ron's envelope noting that it wasn't very big either. Breaking the seal he started to read.
Dear Harry
Hope your ok mate we haven't heard from you since we got back from Hogwarts.
You just disappeared after we arrived at Kings Cross Station, Mum went frantic with worry.
Everyone is missing you here and I know I shouldn't say this but I know Ginny in particular misses you, both myself and Hermione can tell she does.
Did I tell you we are dating now even though we not been on are first date with everything going on ha-ha.
Joking aside we are worried about Gin Harry she's not been the same since we arrived back.
She keeps locking herself in her room and the amount of times we have caught her crying I cannot count, don't know if you can help.
One of the main reasons though i'm writing is because mum asked me to tell you that we have sorted a date for Fred's funeral which is the 20 th May which in 2 weeks time but mum has asked if it's possible for you to come a couple of days before hand then you can get settled in.
We hoping you can attend because I know he would of wanted you to be there.
We are inviting most of Dumbledore's Army and some of Fred's friends.
The other reason i'm writing is because i'm not sure if Kingsley or McGonagall has sent you a letter but they are looking to repair Hogwarts and are looking for volunteers to help as dad passed on the message.
Almost everyone here has said they want to help as I think we all could do with the distraction but mum has told Gin she is not allowed as she is still underage even though she fought against loads of dark wizards including Bellatrix Lestrange in the battle.
Please come and save me from going nuts I could do with my best mate here.
Sincerely
Ron