A/N: I wrote this a few month ago. Just a sweet, short, one-shot. Mostly Harry/Minerva friendship, a bit depresing at the begining, Ron and Hermione pop in towards the end. It made me smile, hope you'll enjoy it as well.

Disclaimer: : The Harry Potter universe belongs to J. K. Rowling and a bunch of others who can profit from this amazing story, I just do it for fan:)

Be One of Us Tonight

She looked around her uneasily, then caught herself and scolded her features back to her usual stern façade. It wouldn't do to let anyone know how insecure and unsettled she felt in this kind of events. She could honestly say that participating in these formal dinners was the greatest disadvantage of her role and social status. Even the free food and wine didn't compensate for the need to mingle with a bunch of ministry paper-pushers who wanted nothing more than to convince her of their opinions on nothing and everything.

Not that all of the guests were that bad, though. Potter, Weasley and Granger were here, along with some order members. She watched them as they came in. They didn't seem too happy with all the attention and buzz around them at first, but soon enough they've settled in, sticking together so they could rescue each other from any unwanted conversations.

She remembered using that very same technique with Albus not so many years ago. There was no one around to save her tonight, though. She looked around her on the specious hall. The ministry surely put a lot of efforts into the décor. The wall in front of her was packed with the photos of all the people who died on the fight against Voldemort. The entire room was decorated in purple and bronze, the ministry's official colors. In the middle of the room, covered, stood the monument they had come to uncover today. A year after the battle of Hogwarts and Voldemort's final demise, the ministry had decided it was finally the time to put a new statue were the magical fountain once stood. The floor has stood bare ever since they destroyed that dreadful thing Voldemort had put there during his reign, the same night he died. Shackelbolt apparently thought the one year anniversary of his demise is the perfect night to unveil the new statue. Well, she couldn't really argue with that logic, at least it meant she wouldn't have to attend two different ceremonies.

If she was being honest with herself, she didn't always hate these things. She could still remember her and Albus having a great time in more than one of them, back in their days. Nowadays however, it just made her feel old and lonely. She sighed, looking at her watch. It was almost time to take their sits for the celebratory feast. If she's lucky, in a couple of hours she would be able to sneak out without it being rude. The only downside to that was a couple of hours sitting in her table with everyone's eyes on her. A couple of hours spent maintaining her facade and living up to her name and title, and she was exhausted already. It wasn't anything new; she'd done that before, but never without anyone by her side to take her mind out of it. She might have managed to get through this war alive, but this time she did so alone. The last of her friends had been lost in this war. What wouldn't she give to be standing here next to Albus or Alastor; she could even settle for Severus, Remus or Tonks. She sighed again. Filius offered to come with her, of course, but she couldn't leave the school without its headmistress and deputy.

"Good evening headmistress."

She turned to the voice, berating herself for letting herself be carried away by her thoughts enough to not notice her surroundings. Her questioning look met bright green eyes and a smiling face and she smiled back relived.

"I thought I told you to use my name, Potter." She bantered pleasantly.

"You did. It seemed a bit unfair though, as you aren't using mine." There was some of his father's mischief in those green eyes. It felt funny, seeing so much of James looking at her through Lily's eyes. Stop it, he is a man on his own right, it isn't fair to him to keep compering him to his parents. And it wouldn't do you any good either. A wave of longing washed over her at the thought. She couldn't remember anyone who has managed to warm their way to her heart as quickly or as easily as the Potters. She didn't normally allow herself to form any kind of friendship with former students, but she never stood a chance against those two. James of course never cared much for rules and propriety, or her wishes she thought bitterly, he just trudged ahead, treating her like his best mate since the moment he graduated. Lily was much more subtle, god bless her good heart, but the time came when she just couldn't keep politely declining her dinner invitations, and not long after that she knew she had lost the fight.

"I apologize, Harry, apparently old habits die hard."

"That they do, no harm done. So, how have you been? I haven't seen you at the last Weasley gathering?"

The Weasley gatherings. Another dreadful task, but she'd managed to avoid this one for the last few months under the guise of being busy. She didn't think anyone but Molly and Arthur would notice, though. "I'm well, thank you, just a bit busy. How are you doing? I didn't see Ginny here with you?"

Harry smiled at the mention of his fiancé. "No, she really doesn't like this kind of things, can't say I disagree, and since she has no real obligation to be here, we decided there was no reason we should both suffer through it."

"You don't seem to be suffering this much." She teased; pleased to see his relationship with Ginny was making him happy. Not that she hadn't noticed the good affect they had on each other, the girl was whistling down the halls, and it seemed to correspond to the frequent visits of a certain white owl in the castle.

"Not as much as I would if I didn't have Ron and Hermione with me, I have no idea how you're doing this on your own."

He didn't seem to be aware of the open wound he just rubbed in, and Minerva fought with all her might to keep it that way. She couldn't just fall apart here, in the middle of the ceremony, in front this sweet boy of all people. She knew his intentions were good, but that comment just hit a little too close to home.

Fortunately, Kingsley chose that moment to address the gathered people and saved her the need to respond.

"If you all could please take your sits, we are ready to start the celebratory dinner."

Minerva sighed. The celebratory dinner, she knew, wasn't just a dinner. It usually included a series of speeches, given by series of people, including herself. Most would be a waste of the listeners' time, and she couldn't honestly say hers wasn't in that category. There was only so much one can say about the recent war without repeating himself, and all of it had been said before.

She moved to find herself a seat, preferably at the end of the hall, where she could hide until it was time for her speech, when Harry's voice stopped her.

"Are you coming? Ron and Hermione said they were going to find us a table over there."

"No. Thank you for the offer, though. I wouldn't want to burden you with my presence. It's a night of celebration and I'm afraid none of you will feel free to celebrate if I was there." She nodded politely at him and turned to leave as his voice stopped her again.

"Don't be silly, we'd love to have you with us. Just come on." And with that he turned and started walking in the direction of his friends, leaving her no room to object. Minerva weighed her options for a second. On one hand, she'd feel utterly out of place sitting with her former students, but there was no polite way to decline Harry's offer when he'd already walked away. She could just turn around and find a seat of her own, like she originally planned, but she knew doing that will hurt Harry, and she really didn't want to do that. She knew he saw her as a mother figure. She couldn't blame him, really. Who else did he have left in the world to play that part? Of course Albus warned her about the growing connection between them years ago, and the possible implications it would have on Harry when he'd have to go back to No. 4 Private Drive, but she never paid much attention to it. If she could give the poor boy some semblance of home and family, even if it could only exist while he was in Hogwarts, she was sure to do that. Hell, she would have given him a real home and family if only Albus would have let her. No, she wouldn't offend him by walking away from his invitation. She'd just have to swallow her nerves and spend a night with the three Gryffindors.

She started hesitating again when she approached their table. The three were talking animatedly to each other, clearly enjoying their time together. Just as she thought about walking away, Harry lifted his eyes and caught hers.

"It sure did take you some time to join us, Minerva. I remembered you being much faster when it came to catching us breaking rules." That mischievous glint was back in his eyes, and she thanked him it her heart for breaking the ice with his words.

"Well, I must be getting out of shape. After all, I haven't had much reason to hurry since you three graduated." And with that she set down on the free chair next to him.

She limited herself for a few words here and there for the duration of the evening, not wanting to get in the way of what seemed to be quite the enjoyable night for the three friends.

Then it was time for her to make her speech, as she was the opening speaker, followed by the minister, the head of the auror department, Harry and a representative of the Order of Phoenix. When the speeches were done they'd have their big reveal and then she could finally go home. She got up at Kingsley's mark and made her way to the stand, wishing she could be somewhere else.

When she returned to her seat she found only Ron and Hermione there, as Harry has already left to take his place before his speech. She found herself missing his cheerful presence.

An hour and a half later it was all over. The moment she'd been waiting for all night has arrived, she could go home now.

"Well, it's been a pleasant night, but I'm afraid I must go now. It was very nice seeing you all." She put a warm smile on her face and got up.

The conversation that had been flowing between the three friends up until then has abruptly stopped.

"You're leaving?" Ron looked at her, a surprised expression on his face, "does that mean we could leave too?"

"No, Ron. As war heroes we are expected to stay until the end of the evening. Honestly, how many times I have to tell you that?" Hermione's tone was a bit impatient, but her face were more amused than angry.

"But she's a war hero too, and she's leaving!" there was a bit of whining in his voice, similar to that of a child pointing a perceived injustice to his mother. It brought a smile to Minerva's face.

"I am also the head of Hogwarts, Ronald, and perceived to be a very busy woman, which means my early departure will be understandable, while yours will not." She could see Hermione's satisfied grin from the corner of her eye.

"Why don't you stay with us for a bit longer" Harry suggested, "help us pass the time."

"I'm afraid I really am busy, Harry. I should go."

"Come on, surly you can spare a few hours to spend with us?" she didn't expect Hermione to urge her to stay, but it seems as though the young woman was picking up on her friend's behavior.

"I could, but I am an old woman, and it's getting late. Besides, I wouldn't want to ruin your fun. You three have a good night." She put a reassuring smile on her face and almost managed a complete retreat when Harry's voice caught her.

"You aren't ruining the fun, Minerva, we want you to stay." She looked at his face and noticed the mischief was gone, his face showed seriousness she rarely saw on them. "Surly you could spare some time for a night with friends? Put us in on that 'time with friends' box in your calendar, I know you have one." his eyes met her, trying to convey the sincerity of the offer.

Minerva felt like her heart was being torn to little pieces. She knew the boy meant well but his words hit a very sore spot. How she wanted to still have to squeeze in 'time with friends' to her busy schedule. "Not anymore Harry." She stated sadly "as I don't have any more friends left alive."

"You may not consider us friends Minerva, but to us you already are a friend. You shouldn't cancel that box; just fill it with new friends. Be one of us tonight, let us be your friends."

Minerva was doing her best to fight off the tears in her eyes. Her three Gryffindors were looking at her hopefully, awaiting her response. She considered their words for a moment. She had promised herself after the last war that she wouldn't let herself get this close to someone again. The days and months following Albus's death were the worst of her life, and from that point on people just kept dying. She barely picked herself up after that, and she knew her students suffered from it that year. And with the Carrows as teachers, they really needed her focused and levelheaded. She promised herself she'd never let that happen again. She'd never let another's death to affect her this badly. Unfortunately for her that meant staying away from them when they were alive, too. But she was lonely. She might never admit it to anyone but it was time she admitted it to herself. And Voldemort was really gone this time. The wizarding world seemed to have calmed down since the end of the war and started bridging gaps, between muggle-borns and pure-bloods, human and magical creatures. She was already quite old, what were the chances of her seeing another war?

"I suppose I could spare an hour or two." She said, still debating the wisdom of her decision as she set back down in her chair.

"Great! So, as an expert in the field, what do you think about the Chadley Cannons' chances to win this season?"

"Please, please explain to him they will never have a chance to win." The desperation in Hermione's voice along with Ron's jubilance made her smile, she took a second to honor her dead friends, then she mustered all of her Gryffindor bravery and took a leap of faith.

"It's not that they couldn't win, Hermione. It's just that they have been doing everything they can to avoid that…"