Harry woke in a cold sweat. In his nightmare, Nagini had been wrapped around him in an attempt to crush the life out of him. As consciousness replaced the sleepy state he had been in, he realized that he was in bed. His sheet had wrapped around him sometime during his sleep, no doubt causing his nightmare. With the realization that it was only his sheet came a second, more amazing realization.


     It’s over, Harry thought, I stopped Voldemort last night. Tom Riddle is dead, and will never terrorize me or anyone else again!


     Feeling more jubilant than he had in a very long time, Harry jumped out of his four-poster and grabbed his glasses. As soon as he jumped up, though, he groaned and sat back in his bed. Obviously, he was still feeling the effects of the previous 48 hours of action. He thought it may be some time before he could move as he usually did. Maybe I ought to go see if Madam Pomfrey is in the hospital wing, Harry thought, but he knew it would have to wait. He had business to take care of today, people to thank, and dead to lament.


     Harry looked around his room in Gryffindor tower, drinking in the familiar sites with eagerness. All the other beds were still occupied with his sleeping friends. Harry felt a small smile growing on his face, ecstatic to see they had all survived and with the knowledge they would not be threatened again by Voldemort.


     As Harry was dressing for the day, he heard a small groan from one of the beds. Ron sat up and looked at Harry. “Harry, what are you doing awake already?� Ron asked him. He still looked sleepy, and proved it by letting out a jaw-cracking yawn.


     “Go back to sleep, Ron. I just can’t sleep anymore� Harry told him, as he prepared to leave the bedroom.


     “Hang on a second, I will come down with you.� Ron jumped up and got dressed, though Harry noticed he too was moving rather gingerly this morning. Well, most everyone who battled last night will probably be sore this morning thought Harry, then he felt his stomach lurch. He had seen Lupin, Tonks, Fred, and Colin Creevey lying dead in the Great Hall. Unbidden, tears formed in Harry’s eyes. He let them fall, knowing that there was nothing wrong with grieving for the dead.


     Ron walked up beside Harry, and put his hand on his shoulder. “Come on, Harry, let’s go down and see who else is about.� Harry took a moment to compose himself, then followed Ron out the door and onto the stairs that lead to the common room.


     Harry was unsurprised to see the heads of two people already in the common room, sitting close together and chatting quietly. Hermione’s bushy hair, and Ginny’s mane of red, was a comforting site to Harry. Though he lamented the loss of his friends, he was equally as glad for the survivors… especially Hermione and Ginny.


     The girls heard Ron and Harry coming down the stairs, and immediately rose to meet them. Hermione walked straight up to Ron, wrapped her arms around him, and went up on tip-toe to kiss him soundly. Harry started to blush, until Ginny entered his arms in much the same way. When this happened, nothing else seemed to matter to Harry. Here was Ginny, his Ginny, this wonderful woman who had chosen to love him and whom he loved. She had made it through the battles relatively unscathed, and now he could have her forever. Ginny grabbed his head and pulled his face to her own. She looked him in the eye and whispered “I love you, Harry Potter, and am so happy to see you this morning.� With that, she kissed him – not the same kind of kiss that Ron and Hermione were still enjoying, but a quick loving kiss that left Harry tingling from his fingertips to his toes. They stood there for a time, just holding each other and not feeling the need to talk.


     When Ron and Hermione finally broke apart, they all looked at each other and laughed. The relief that they had not been able to share the previous night was finally breaking through. Harry let go of Ginny, and walked over to a laughing Hermione. She saw the look in his eyes, and her laughing slowed. He grabbed her around the shoulders and pulled her to him, hugging her tightly. After a momentary shock, she recovered and hugged him back just as tightly. Then he released her and walked over to Ron, giving him the same treatment. He took them both in with his eyes, and said “I can never thank the two of you enough. You stuck by me, all the way through the end. I don’t think I would have survived without you… in fact, I am confident I would have stood little chance. You were both brilliant, and you have my undying gratitude and love.� With that, the three best friends joined in a large hug, which also engulfed Ginny after a short time.


     Harry broke apart and, with a look at his two best friends, pulled Ginny off to the side. He looked into her eyes and whispered “Ginny Weasley, I love you, and am so happy to see you this morning�. With that, he kissed her again, which she returned eagerly.


     When the kiss broke, Harry saw his two best friends looking at him as though nothing could be more natural in their eyes. He smiled at them, they smiled back, and the laughing started anew.


     After what seemed hours, the laughing subsided again. Ron suddenly looked as though he had swallowed some disgusting potion and said “Blimey, I’m hungry. I’ve not had a proper meal since we left Bill and Fleur’s. Think we should go down to the Great Hall and see what’s going on? Maybe they have breakfast.�


     With that, the four friends left Gryffindor and made their way downstairs to the Great Hall. Evidently, the house elves had already been hard at work on their beloved castle. Most of the signs of the battle from the previous evening were already cleaned up. They saw no blood on the floor or walls, and many of the holes in the walls and broken windows were repaired. They did notice, however, that there remained tasks for which the teachers were needed. Here and there were suits of armor and gargoyles that needed mending, chunks of walls that needed to be repaired, and the like. They passed a small closet whose door was being guarded by members of the Order. That, Hermione sagely pointed out, is where they were storing Voldemort’s body until it could be determined what to do with him. On the level of the Great Hall was a classroom, whose doorway was glowing a slight gold color. Harry surmised that is where the bodies of those who died to defend him, and Hogwarts, had been taken.


     Harry broke off when he saw this door, and approached it slowly. Hermione, Ron, and Ginny followed. Ginny moved to Harry’s side, and took his hand in hers. Hermione and Ron each squeezed his shoulder in a show of support, and followed him and Ginny into the room.


     When they entered the room, Harry’s first reaction was to turn around and run back the way he came. He did not want to think about the senseless loss of life that he was staring at, which was made more difficult with the knowledge that they died because of him. Ginny, seemingly reading his thoughts, said “No, Harry… they did not die because of you. They died fighting for what they believed in. They died a good death. Mourn, and we will mourn with you, but know that they are all in a better place… a place where pain can not touch them anymore.� With that, she fell silent and simply provided what comfort she could by being there with him.


     Harry walked to each body, and looked briefly into the faces of those he would never be able to talk to again. Those he did not know very well, he simply stopped and gazed at, before expressing his thanks and moving on. As he made his way around the room, he came upon the bodies of those whose deaths he lamented on a more personal level.


     First was Colin Creevey. Harry felt tears forming anew as he walked to Colin’s body. It lay there, cold and unmoving. Why did you come back, Colin. You should have left and stayed away, Harry thought to himself. Then he remembered Colin being so active during DA meetings, and getting quite good at the spells they were practicing. With a small smile, Harry reached out and grabbed Colin’s hand. No, it would have been wrong to deny him the chance to defend the school he loved so much Harry thought, and aloud said “Thank you, Colin, for coming back and joining the battle. You were brave and noble, a true Gryffindor to the end. You will not be forgotten.�


     Harry then moved on to Fred’s body. This time, he felt a lump rise in his throat, and found a sob mixed with an unbidden burst of laughter as Harry noticed that Fred was still smiling. A happy person until the end Harry thought, as he smiled back to his friend. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he stared at Fred. “Fred Weasley, you were my friend from the time you and George helped me get my trunk onto the Hogwarts Express right through the end. You made countless people smile in your short time here, and your jokes will be long remembered. However, your bravery in battling Voldemort’s followers will be remembered for far longer. You, too, were a true Gryffindor to the end. Thank you, Fred, for everything. You will not be forgotten.� With that, Harry laid his forehead on Fred’s chest and cried for a time.


     When he had composed himself, Harry found the last two people he had been there to see. Lying side-by-side in their deaths were Lupin and Tonks. At seeing them, Harry began to sob uncontrollably. I never meant for you two to die, I am so sorry Harry thought. Then, as his mind cleared a little of grief now that it was being expressed, he flashed back to the memory of Lupin walking with him on the grounds the previous night. He knew that Lupin was in a better place, with his wife and friends, and would never be troubled again. He smiled at that knowledge, but his happiness was tempered by the thought of his godson who, like Harry, would not get the chance to grow up knowing his parents. He would know, Harry promised himself, as much as Harry could tell him about them. He would also know how and why his parents died, and make sure that Teddy grew up proud of his parents. “I will be a good godfather to Teddy, I promise you. You were two truly wonderful people, and would have made great parents. I will miss you very much, but I will see you again… someday. You will not be forgotten.� With that, he hugged them both and turned to leave the room.


     Outside the room, he sat alone and cried, until Hermione came out as well. She joined him on the bench, and they cried together. Finally, Ron and Ginny came out from grieving for Fred and the others, and joined Harry and Hermione on the bench. After a few minutes, Hermione tentatively suggested they get some breakfast before seeing what else the day held in store for them. So, arm-in-arm, they headed for the Great Hall to eat their breakfast and join the rest of the living.