The Return

Disclaimer: I don’t own any of this, just borrowing

A/N: This hasn’t been betaed so any mistakes are my own.

************************************************

Dense fog was filling the narrow country lane as the sun just began to peak on the horizon. Through the darkness came three figures, walking slowly, as if all their concentration was on making sure their feet fell where they should and they didn’t stumble. They walked close enough to lend support if needed but far enough to allow for the occasional misstep. Each member of this trinity bore signs of battle, injuries that could be seen on the outside, and the deeper more lasting ones that were in.

At the center was a young man, weary but determined. He was obviously the leader, his stride a bit surer. The hem of what was left of his robes trailed in the dusty road and there was a noticeable limp as he stepped. His glasses were cracked and to say his black hair looked a fright would be kind. To his right was a young woman, pale and jaw set. Her curly brown hair swung in her face but she never moved to brush it away, unable to summon the extra energy to do so. Her left arm was clutched tightly to her chest and she held it securely with her right doing all she could to not jar it. On the other side was another young man, tall with shaggy red hair and also a limp. His head was bandaged in what once may have been robes but it was too difficult to tell now.

This trio came to a gate and the black haired man pushed it open, not even wincing at the high pitched squeak it emitted scaring a nearby flock of once resting pigeons. Past the gate and down the lane some a building of some sort was becoming discernable through the mist. It rose in a haphazard fashion, with rooms jutting out at odd angles and had a dangerous tilt to it. The group slowed now as the house came into full view, reveling silently for a moment that they had indeed made it back.

The slamming of a door broke them from their reverie and this time they did jump as a frazzled and worried looking woman ran onto the porch. She seemed to just stare at them for a long minute before she allowed herself to believe what she was seeing, and then she ended the silence with her screams.

“ARTHUR!!! ARTHUR!! THEY’RE HERE!! THEY’RE BACK!!”

The three stepped instinctively closer to one another, there was no danger but the past year had honed it into them.

The announcement woke the entire house and suddenly people poured out of it. All of them stopping and staring at what was before them. Then, as if a start gun had gone off they rushed the trio.

“Harry! Ron! Hermione!”

These names were exclaimed, for this trio was compiled of the two wizards and one witch who had just destroyed the evil Lord Voldemort. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger were returning from a battle no one knew they would or could survive. It had taken them over eight months to destroy all the parts of Voldemort’s soul, save the last, for he was as brilliant as he was evil and had divided his soul in to seven parts. They had been gone this time for almost a month. Hermione’s careful research led her to believe that Voldemort would come looking for Harry at Hogwarts, a place both Harry and Voldemort had special ties to. Harry refused to allow a battle to be waged on those beloved grounds and instead decided to take the fight to Voldemort. The trio told no one of their plan, believing that this was their final chance. The final encounter was not as long as some would have thought. Knowing that his wand was virtually useless against Voldemort’s Harry instead used Hermione’s. This it seemed was crucial to wearing the evil wizard down and at the end it was Hermione and Ron joining their wands and hands with Harry’s as they vanquished him forever. They had never talked about it, joining like that, it just came to them. They ignored the prophecy where it said Harry would fight him alone, instead choosing to focus on the part that spoke of ‘the power he knows not’. That power being love, loyalty, bravery and friendship, all things Voldemort did not and could not understand.

The three young saviors were now mobbed by their family and friends. Remus Lupin, Order member and friend of James and Lily Potter was the first to reach Harry.

“Harry! By Merlin! Did you do it?! Did you do it?!”

Harry opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out so he nodded. The cheer that went up was sure to have woken up anyone within a mile.

Ron was now being smothered by his mother, trying vainly to tell her he was alright but the swaying he was doing was making his attempt rather poor.

Nymphadora Tonks and Ron’s sister Ginny had made a bee-line for Hermione. In her excitement Tonks jostled into Hermione, causing her arm to shift. Harry turned towards her quickly at her gasp of pain but couldn’t get to her in time as she began to crumple, the pain finally winning out over her consciousness. Luckily years of working with dragons had given Charlie Weasley quick reflexes and he was able to catch her and pick her up before she hit the ground.

Harry’s quick movement however was what his damaged leg had been waiting for and he felt himself collapsing. Lupin grabbed him by the collar in time and hooked an arm under his shoulder, supporting most of his weight. Harry could barely register what Lupin was saying.

“Molly! We need to get them inside, they’re injured.”

Harry felt someone else come up on his other side for which he was grateful since he didn’t think he would have been able to make it into the Burrow otherwise. Ron was being helped in by his twin brothers Fred and George and Charlie was already taking the unconscious Hermione into the house.

Once inside Mrs. Weasley wasted no time turning the living room into a makeshift hospital. Furniture was cleared away and beds were conjured in a blink of an eye. Lupin and Molly saw to Hermione first.

Waving her wand over the offending arm Molly immediately made a diagnosis. “Separated shoulder, broken collar bone, not to mention sheer exhaustion.” She turned quickly to her youngest “Ginny, floo Madame Pomfrey and tell her what’s happened and ask her to come.”

Mrs. Weasley went to Harry next “Your leg is broken Harry! Broken! And you’ve been walking on it!” she exclaimed. Harry wasn’t registering much of what she said but the knowledge that his leg was indeed broken made sense to him considering the amount of pain he had been in. Harry was about to mention the old laceration in his scalp that had finally stopped bleeding when Mrs. Weasley’s face was suddenly replaced by that of Hogwart’s nurse Madame Pomfrey.

“Hmmm. Mr. Potter, more broken bones I see.” But there was an underlying quiver in her voice and Harry was certain she was glad to see him and that she would make certain she would be the only one to care for him.

Ron had been protesting the entire time that he most definitely did not need to lie down. Unfortunately for him the most convincing argument he could come up with was that he wasn’t unconscious like Hermione, and if he could have actually remembered the word unconscious someone might have believed him. As it was it took Fred and George threatening to sit on him before he agreed to lie down. One wave of a wand confirmed a serious concussion and a gash so severe on his leg it’s a wonder it was still attached.

Potions were brewed, bandages dressed and soon the two wizards joined the now asleep Hermione.

The next time Harry opened his eyes bright morning sunlight was filling the room. He reached over expectantly and groped until he found his glasses, which had by now been repaired. He started to raise his head and then thought better of it, allowing it to rest again on the pillow. A partition of sorts had been put up blocking the living room from the rest of the house. Looking to his right he saw Ron, curled up on his side, softly snoring with a fresh white bandage on his head. Looking to his left was Hermione, her arm held to her chest in a sling but sleeping peacefully.

A head peaked around the partition and eyes widened when they realized he was awake. Harry smiled softly at the red headed intruder and nodded his consent to come in.

Ginny Weasley had luckily fallen out of his love life as easily as she had come in. Dating Ginny the end of his sixth year was easy and uncomplicated and safe, but they both knew his life was none of those things. Telling her they couldn’t be together anymore had been hard but necessary. She accepted his reasons and he thinks she knew herself they couldn’t really be more. Over the past year whenever they had returned to the Burrow things were easier between them. They had been friends first and always would be. But the feelings he had had for her last year were gone and there was no chance now of them returning.

Ginny eased into the chair that had been placed between his and Ron’s beds and leaned over to give him a quick peck on the cheek. “Good morning. We weren’t sure how long you would sleep.”

Harry once again attempted to speak and felt that his throat had chosen instead to close up on him. Ginny immediately poured him a glass of water and handed it to him, patiently waiting for him to continue.

“Morning?” he asked “How long have we been out?”

“Two days, you were all exhausted. Hermione especially.”

“Two days?!” Harry went to jump out of bed at this and was forced back down by Ginny. “No! I have to inform the Ministry. People need to be told.”

“They know. Ron managed to stay conscious long enough to give Dad at least an abridged version of what happened. Enough to alert the Ministry that it was...that the war was over.”

“So how come we’re still here? I’d have thought the Ministry would have tried to move us.”

Ginny laughed at this. “Oh they tried. Scrimgouer himself tried to come here but Mum put her foot down. Said they would take the three of you out of here over her dead body. Madame Pomfrey was backing her up. They’re quite the scary team. I’m surprised the yelling didn’t wake you.”

There was a rustle in the bed to his left and Ginny had to put a hand over her mouth to stifle her gasp. Hermione Granger had woken up and her eyes were fixed strictly on the man beside her, the man who had turned from Ginny so quickly he should have a crick in his neck. Ginny had gasped because the look in the witch’s eyes said only one thing, showed only one thing. Love. Ginny slipped quietly out of the room knowing that any chance of her and Harry getting together again was quite gone.

Sometime during the course of their quest Harry and Hermione had fallen in love. Or rather they finally realized they were in love. It had just sort of happened. No wild declarations of love, or games of pursuit. They just were. Ron and Hermione had tried to be together but in their one mutual agreement decided they were much better off as friends. There was no denying their attraction to one another but as soon as they kissed for the first time they both realized it wasn’t going to happen and both had actually parted from the kiss laughing at the absurdity or it. Ron had said later that once he thought about it Harry and Hermione together made sense and he didn’t know how he couldn’t have seen it before.

Harry didn’t notice Ginny’s departure and passed Hermione his glass of water after she had tried to speak.

“Hey” he said softly “How do you feel?”

“My arm hurts but not too bad. And I feel like I’ve slept for days.”

“That would be because you have.” He said and waited for her response.

“Days? Really? If I didn’t know any better I’d say this smacks of Madame Pomfrey.”

Harry laughed and reached out a hand towards her “As usual you’re right. She’s been here the entire time apparently looking after us.”

Hermione slid her good hand into his and squeezed. “Are you ok? And Ron?” she asked trying to see over him into the next bed.

“I feel ok, haven’t tried to walk yet though. My leg was broken apparently.” Hermione gasped at this “Ron looks alright; he’s snoring if that’s any indication.”

“Well if he’s snoring than all’s right with the world.” She said with a grin

“Yeah, I guess it is isn’t it?”

“We did it Harry.” She started tentatively “We really did it right? It wasn’t a dream or anything. He’s really gone.” Tears were now leaking down her cheeks. The magnitude of what they had done finally hitting her.

“Come here.” Harry said and tugged gently on her hand, scooting himself as far to the other side of his bed as he could so that she could join him.

Being careful of her arm Hermione took the two steps across and climbed in, facing him so she didn’t lay on her injured side.

Harry stroked a finger down her wet cheek before replying. “Yeah. We did it. It’s really over.”

She bowed her head to his chest and allowed the sobs to come at last. Crying for all those they had lost, and for the years of terror people had been forced to endure, but finally crying for joy that it was over and that fear would no longer dominate lives.

Harry tilted her chin up and then captured her mouth with his, pouring everything into that kiss, all his love, and relief, and happiness, and sorrow, and hope.

Hermione kissed him back with equal fervor and after they had exhausted themselves their eyes exchanged ‘I love you’s’ before she dropped her head onto his shoulder and they fell back asleep. Knowing that the worst was behind them and they could finally began to live the life they both deserved.