Harry woke up the morning after the funeral feeling a heaviness he could not fully grasp. Even after discovering the prophecy�s secrets, that pain did not cut him like this. Dumbledore was gone, and he was alone. Alone. The word seemed to echo into the stillness of the dormitory. He would now complete the mission Dumbledore entrusted him with so many months ago. All the numerous invisible bands which connected him to other, once-important matters in his life only last week now lay unraveled at his feet. There was simply no other way. The horcruxes snuck up behind him and stole center stage when he wasn�t looking. But if he was honest with himself, the part of his subconscious which he rarely explored had always recognized that this final journey must be embarked upon alone. Yet, did his words to her yesterday have to be so cruel and unsatisfying?
�I can�t�we can�t�I�ve got things to do alone now�He�ll try and get to me through you�How do you think I�d feel if this was your funeral�and it was my fault�I just wish I�d asked you sooner. We could�ve had ages�months�years maybe��
The memory lingered fresh in his mind, and he silently bit back the anger that urged him to smash something delicate. The true weight of his burden finally seemed to be pressing in on him despite the warm spring day and the coziness of the room. It was like he was slowly suffocating and there was nothing he could do to save himself. Alone�.
In response, he dressed quickly and ran down the spiral staircase and across the Common Room like a man possessed. He hurtled through the Portrait Hole and never looked back. Not even when the Fat Lady cried out, �Way to wake a woman from her sleep, Potter, don�t you have any common decency?�
Common Decency. There was a concept he clearly knew nothing about. The castle slept on as he made his way down to the Great Hall for what he knew would be the last time. Harry took all his well-worn shortcuts and jumped his last trick step, allowing himself only a moment to reflect upon the fact that he hadn�t seen Nearly-Headless Nick or even Peeves along his route.
Just as he began buttering his second slice of toast, Ron and Hermione walked into the Hall with unreadable expressions on their faces.
�Well it looks like it�ll be a good day for the trip back at least,� said Hermione as the two settled down across from him. Harry kept his gaze directed at his plate, but the long wooden table gleamed so luminously that he could see his friend�s faces anyway.
�Yeah, and it�ll be nice to have some company that actually talks to you at your aunt and uncle�s house won�t it?� asked Ron.
Harry managed half a smile and took a sip of pumpkin juice; Hermione let out a sound somewhere between a groan and a sigh.
�Ron, you are the most insensitive hag I�ve ever met! Don�t you even stop and consider how Harry is feeling right now?� exclaimed Hermione.
�Yoont ou el me neways,� Ron answered with his mouth full of egg.
Hermione looked away disgusted, and Ron swallowed before continuing. �Since you�re the expert on feelings and seem to know some big secret you�re just bursting to tell me, why don�t you save us all the trouble and enlighten me with your wisdom?� snapped Ron.
Hermione gazed up at the periwinkle blue sky as though praying for patience, but when she focused her eyes back on her plate again, Harry thought he saw a blush creeping into her face.
�It�s not a secret, but I�m not the one to tell you anyway,� she answered.
�Fine, Harry tell me what�s going on,� he said.
Harry, who was now shooting daggers at Hermione, began chewing very slowly in the hopes of thinking up the right way to phrase his news. He had been dreading this moment since yesterday afternoon; he�d even awoken particularly early to avoid Ron and especially Ginny, whom he hadn�t seen since they had parted ways at the lake.
However, his thoughts continued to remain murky as he desperately fastened useless excuse after excuse together, his stomach knotting when he realized how ridiculous they sounded, even in his head. At last, he settled on the truth. �Well Hermione�s probably mad that you mentioned me not talking to the Dursleys because Ginny and I aren�t speaking at the moment,� he muttered almost indistinctly.
Hermione shot him an apologetic look, but Ron ignored it saying, �What? Why?�
�Because we broke up yesterday after the funeral,� Harry continued heavily.
�Wooah�wait a minute, you broke up with my sister or she broke up with you?� asked a dumbstruck Ron.
�Oh seriously, Ron, does it really matter if�,� but Hermione fell silent at the look on Ron�s face.
�I broke up with her,� said Harry quietly.
�I don�t get it. I thought you two were made for each other. She�s fancied you for ages�and the way you two were�you know�How could you do that?� Ron challenged, and Harry thought there was more than a hint of anger in his voice now.
�Harry doesn�t want Ginny getting hurt or used by You-Know-Who. He knows she could be in danger just by being associated with him,� Hermione said carefully. �He�s got to finish finding and destroying the horcruxes now, and he could be ki-�well�maybe it�s better for them not to be involved,� she whispered lamely, as her eyes began to well up with tears.
�And I bet Ginny ran off and told you all this before she even thought of telling me,� spat Ron, clearly missing the delicacy of the moment.
�Oh don�t blame her, Ron, you haven�t exactly been understanding of relationships this year,� said Hermione.
Ron opened his mouth to retort but Hermione, sensing trouble mounting again, said, �Eat your breakfast both of you, we�ve got a long day ahead of us.� Out of the corner of his eye, Harry noticed her pick up Ron�s left hand and bring it back down into her lap.
They finished the meal in relative silence until Dean, Seamus, Neville, and Lavender showed up. Lavender sat a good distance away from Ron, who kept his elbow propped up on the table, hand in his hair, to block his view of her. Hermione eyed this with satisfaction, but still scooted in closer to him, whispering something into his ear that immediately turned his ears a bright magenta. Harry, stunned by what was occurring in front of him, was fortunately spared from the worst of the unfolding spectacle by Neville�s probing questions.
�I don�t think I�ll be coming back to Hogwarts next year. I�ve got a lot of things to get done for Dumbledore,� Harry kindly explained to a stunned Neville.
�What have you got to do for Dumbledore?� interrupted Dean curiously, just as Ginny passed by. Dean, nauseatingly enough, seemed very cheered by Harry�s newfound despondency.
A split second later his stomach crashed somewhere around his ankles. Ginny looked suddenly small and fragile, and her eyes screamed of exhaustion and pain. �Damn it! It was all an act yesterday, you git! She�s miserable, and you can�t do a bloody thing about it,� he thought miserably.
Where Dwell the Brave at Heart by FelicisQuill
Chapter Notes: The story begins on the morning that Harry and his friends must leave Hogwarts, quite possibly for the last time.