after the war - harry
he tries to stick around hogwarts, tries to help rebuild, but he canât bare to look at all the places those heâs loved have died. he makes sure heâs deep in conversation with ron when he can feel the body of tom riddle being moved behind him
he moves into 12 grimmauld place, and the dim house suits him well, he just died and defeated the evil heâs been fighting since he was born in one day and he needs a rest
he sleeps all day, every day, kreacher brings him food but he doesnât eat
he spends most of his time in siriusâ room, and sometimes swears he can feel padfootâs hand squeezing his shoulder
ginny comes to visit, she comes a lot, they spend nights together just holding each other wrapped under blankets and itâs the only time either of them feel safe
hermione visits too, to keep him updated on the recovery of the ministry, she tells him, but harry knows she misses him, he misses her too
molly comes, always unexpectedly, always with food. her eyes are always puffy, but they never talk about that, molly fusses over him and they chat about how excited they both are for the first weasley grandchild. he hopes sheâll be okay
mcgonagall comes for tea and biscuits, every tuesday, lets harry know that hogwarts is being repaired in record time, and that several monuments are being crafted for those theyâve lost
she reminds harry every time that heâs always welcome at hogwarts, he canât bare the thought
ron visits most of all, often with hermione, sometimes with molly, but its when itâs just the two of them that they both do the most healing. they joke about how many more rooms are going to be added onto the borrow, how harryâs now the estranged cousin living in the creepy house, how ronâs going to add enough en suites for every new gryffindor in hogwarts to have one each, how they canât remember who owes who money now that theyâre both holding invites to seamus and deanâs wedding
harry asks ron if he has any time for himself, ron tells him the point is that he doesnâtÂ
harry doesnât need to be told twice, but thereâs no way heâs going to the ministry, and he still canât face hogwarts, so he turns to his surroundings, since the moment he stepped foot in this place heâd always thought it needed a spruce up
he tears the portraits off the walls, rips down the wallpaper from the family tree room (heâll ask luna and dean to help him make a new one later) replaces every piece of furniture and reminder of the house of black. except sirius and regulusâ rooms, he leaves them untouched
the house is brighter, but he isnât happier, still just as traumatised, and he doesnât feel better, but somethingâs changed, and he thinks its good, though heâs not sure
then its been a year since he died, and heâs formally invited to the grand reopening of hogwarts in preparation for the start of the new term in september
he tries, but it turns out he canât say no to ron and mcgonagall all in one go, so he uses more magic than he has in a year to get himself to hogsmeade, and thatâs when he sees it
hogwarts, but not
the castle in front of him is all in one piece, and just as beautiful, but somethingâs off, and thatâs when he realises that mcgonagall really has outdone herself this time
a new hogwarts, made from the remains of the one that was lost, still recognisable, but refreshingly new, linked to the horrors of the past, but no longer haunted by them
and for the first time since may 2nd 1998, harry potter lets himself cry
heâs home
