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Most people had stayed after the battle and those who hadn’t eventually came back, Gregory included. In the end it had mostly been Draco who’d convinced him, and his own need to confront his stupidity and the choices he had made.
He hadn’t gotten a warm welcome back and he hadn’t been expecting one either. A couple of people had given him not-so-friendly glances but they had all accepted he was there to stay and help rebuild.
It was harder to be back then he had expected. He sometimes found himself turning his head to grin and make faces at Vince, only to find that his best friend wasn’t there anymore. That he would never be there again.
It was lonely with Draco as his only partner for conversation, but he was glad that Draco was there. They had both lost a friend and he knew they needed to talk about it eventually.
Occasionally he preferred the solitude. Sometimes it all just became a bit too much, which was how he found himself by the lake one day, throwing pebbles into the water and watching the small waves they made as they hit. It made him feel relaxed and gave him time to think about the things he had done; the things he wanted to ignore but knew he couldn’t.
Gregory started to visit the lake more often and one afternoon when he had reached his favorite place under the old birch tree, he stopped, because his spot was already occupied: by Potter.
However, Potter didn’t say anything, didn’t tell him to leave. He just gave Gregory a small nod and turned his head back to look at the water.
Gregory sat down and he found that it wasn’t awkward at all. In fact it was nice to finally have someone to share the silence with. It became a habit after that, every afternoon they would meet at the lake, never talking.
One morning Potter greeted him at breakfast and Gregory gave a mumbled greeting back, ignoring Draco’s raised eyebrow.
And so it went, each day they would talk more and more, until one time at the lake Potter shifted a bit closer, giving him a small crooked smile. Looking at that smile, Gregory thought that maybe things would be okay someday.