Disclaimer: All characters and place names etc. belong to JKRowling - you know how it goes - they're not mine!
Harry sat, curled up in a comfy armchair next to the fire, his head tipped back and resting on the arm of the chair, letting the sounds of the house wash over him. The fire next to him crackled and spat whilst the enchanted clock whirred and clicked. The sounds of Molly Weasley simultaneously cooking and ordering Ginny and Hermione not to burn the pudding, which she had allowed them to make, drifted through from the kitchen. From outside, intermittent grunts and yells bore evidence to the degnoming that was being carried out. Sighing, Harry moved in the chair to become more comfortable. It was the first time in days he had had a moment to himself, for once not to think or to plan, but to just relax. It had been exactly a month since the end of the war. The funerals of the dead, all of which Harry had attended, had ended just a week ago. He had not however, been to any of the celebration parties, which were still ongoing and to which he had been invited to many. The Weasley's, Harry and Hermione were still too raw from the deaths of Fred, Remus, Tonks and all the others who gave their lives, to fully enjoy the euphoria that swept the wizarding world.
Both Harry and Hermione had returned to live with the Weasley's to help them get over their loss and, since Hermione's parents were still in Australia, neither had anywhere else to go anyway. They all tried to ensure that life went back to something as close to resembling normal as possible, but there were still times when someone would lapse into silence, staring off into the distance and the hole that Fred had left in the fabric of the Burrow was almost visible. More than once he, Harry, had entered the kitchen to find Mrs Weasley hastily brushing tears from her face.
The sound of Ron clattering down the stairs and being chastised by the women in the kitchen broke Harry from his reverie. Slowly opening one eye he squinted at his best friend of seven years as he rushed into the room looking guiltily over his shoulder, and Harry distinctly heard him mutter, "t'was only one biscuit!" Grinning, for what felt like the first time in days, Harry sat up properly.
"Ron do you ever think of anything besides your stomach?"
Ron turned and mock glared at him, "yes… occasionally I sleep too! - You still reading all that fan mail?" He indicated the large pile of letter on the floor and the half read sheet of paper in Harry's hand.
Harry sighed. "It's not all fan mail Ron, a lot of it's from people who lost someone and want to thank me; it's actually quite embarrassing."
"Yeah, I mean, it's not as if you did much," Ron's voice dripped sarcasm. "You only tried to die for the sake of the entire world and then killed You-now-who - again." Even now Ron refused to say the name.
It was a conversation they had had several times over the last month and yet again Ron refused to understand that what Harry had done wasn't really that wonderfully heroic.
"Look Ron, it was the Elder Wand that killed him, not me; I just took a gamble on how it would turn out. As for the dying to save the world part, anyone would have done it."
When Ron continued to look sceptical, Harry just sighed and changed the subject quickly. "So how many biscuits did you swipe really?"
Ron's ears turned scarlet, "it was only three."
Harry began to laugh and laugh, and he was still laugh when a few minutes later Mrs Weasley called them through for supper.
With the exception of Charlie, who had returned to Romania shortly after Fred's funeral, the whole Weasley clan, plus Harry and Hermione, gathered around the kitchen table. As they all took their seats Harry found that he had ended up tucked between Ginny and Hermione - who was in turn sitting next to Ron - and assumed that this was another one of Mrs Weasley's less than subtle hints. Ever since they'd gotten back to the Burrow, Ron's mum had thrown the couples' together at every available opportunity and dropped numerous hints about families and marriage. It seemed to Harry as though she was determined to have an engagement by the end of the summer to somehow compensate for Fred's loss. Despite her best efforts, or perhaps because of them, neither relationship had really gotten off the ground.
After the emotion of the battle at Hogwarts, Ron and Hermione seemed to be perpetually embarrassed in each other's company. Watching them now Harry rolled his eyes as he watched them try to eat without letting their arms touch. With Ginny however, it was quite the opposite problem. He tried to be patient and understanding, she had after all been through a traumatic experience and lost her brother, but he had never been able to stomach clinginess. She wanted to be in his company all the time, asked him what he was thinking more times than he could stomach and got furiously jealous if he so much as spoke to Hermione on her own, despite his constant reassurances that she was just a friend. At times he wondered whether she was worth all the hassle, but then he looked into her beautiful brown eyes and couldn't even contemplate losing her. Besides Ron would never forgive him if he broke his little sister's heart.
She'd started talking again now, asking him if he was sure he was eating enough and telling him she would miss him so much when she went back to Hogwarts. He'd been so busy thinking that he hadn't even noticed when she'd started to speak. He fleetingly wondered how he could have put up with all this last year, but he quickly squashed the thought, they'd all been through so much since then, that things were bound to feel a little different at first.
Just before pudding was served Bill cleared his throat and got to his feet. "As you will all no doubt have realised it's been a month since You-know-who was defeated, and not a day goes by where we all don't think about what we lost to achieve that." Here he indicated George who had undoubtedly been hit the hardest by what had happened. "So I'd like to make a toast to the memory of the most fantastic brother that anyone could ask for - to Fred." The clinking of glasses around the table was drowned out by George's quip, "wherever you are, may you irritate those you're with as much as you did us!"
Several watery smiles greeted this remark as Bill continued, "I'd also like to thank Harry, because without him, none of us would probably be here." Harry turned scarlet at this and stared studiously at his plate as To Harry echoed around the table and Hermione elbowed him gently in the ribs.
Pudding was quickly produced after this - which Harry was grateful for as it covered his embarrassment, an attitude which Ginny just couldn't understand.
"But Harry you're a hero, you shouldn't be embarrassed to be treated like one, you deserve it." The look she gave him was half puzzled, half exasperated as he shrugged noncommittally and turned to his pudding. Ron, he noticed, was already attacking his with vigour whilst Hermione wore an expression of restrained disgust. Knowing Hermione had had a hand in the making he was apprehensive about eating any of it himself, but to show solidarity he gingerly ate a piece and found himself pleasantly surprised. "Wow Hermione this is actually really good."
"Thanks Harry," she beamed at him, "Ginny and Mrs Weasley helped to though." Guiltily Harry turned to his girlfriend and reiterated the complement, too late though. If looks could kill, Harry wondered why Voldemort didn't just save himself the bother and let Ginny finish Harry off. He gulped and hastily returned to his pudding.
A/N: Sorry I know not much happened there, but I hadn't intended this bit to be so long, the chapter sort of ran away with me. I promise the next chapter will see a bit more action and Ginny will soon be disposed of.
-->