By the time Hermione completed her prefect duties, the Hogwarts Express was well on its way. She was exhausted, having walked up and down the train multiple times, helping the first years settle in. For some odd reason, the train seemed much longer than she remembered.

"Were there more…small people this year?" Ron asked as they entered Harry and Ginny's compartment. Harry and Ginny were engrossed in a game of exploding snap with Neville and Luna. Judging by the look of things, Neville hadn't had a good run.

"I dunno. But there sure seemed to be a lot of first years," Hermione replied, reaching out for one of Harry's Chocolate Frogs.

"There are these Flurries," Luna stated airily. "Daddy says they stop you from counting properly."

"If you think about it, there weren't much learning last year. Basically everyone's been held back a year, and then there's the real new people," Neville explained, trying his best to avoid the topic of Flurries.

"Right, so everyone's coming back then?" Ron asked excitedly. "I mean, not, ya know, every…one." Hermione caught the exchange of looks between Harry and Ron as Ron quickly turned his attention to the passing scenery.

"Yeah, not everyone," Harry stated quietly. There was no need for further explanation as the six fell into a contemplative silence.

xxxx

And just like that they had arrived. The journey was over. First-years clamored to get off the train, eager to take in the sights. They oohed and aahed, pointed and gasped, bumped and prodded one another. But no one minded. To them, a new experience, both exciting and daunting, lay ahead.

In their excitement, they failed to notice the older students who had hung back. Many were still in their respective compartments, looking out of the windows to an all to familiar scene. Quietly, they disembarked. Each step and movement seemed weighted, slow.

They were remembering.

xxxx

Hermione tightened her hold on Ron's hand, and he on hers. They were now standing in front of the doors of the Great Hall. Ginny had placed her hand on Harry's shoulder as his fingers lightly grazed her waist. Both their faces, Hermione noticed, had gone pale.

The last time she remembered being in the Great Hall, she had helped move the bodies of Fred, Lupin and Tonks. She could almost feel the heaviness of their bodies straining her arms. She could still hear the silence that followed the battle, the cries that came not much later. How, she thought, can I go back in?

As the heavy doors creaked open, Hermione felt a childish urge to run. Run away and back to the Burrow where the memories were vague and always far away. Here, they were real. Pinpricks of pain now became tight clenches on her chest. Run, she thought. Run.

Ron turned to look at her, his face an odd combination of puke green and pale. He was biting his lips, tears running down his cheeks. Yet, he kept a hold on her hand. He looked at her with and said, "We can do this together."

The doors were now wide open, and she could see the Great Hall clearly. The teachers ahead of them already seated. The ceiling dotted with stars and lighted by a clear full moon. And the tables. The tables were different, newer than Hermione remembered. She heard Ron gasp beside her and saw that both Harry and Ginny were now staring at the walls to their right. All the students around her were muttering, pointing left and right.

Then she saw them.

The old banquet tables that used to fill the Great Hall, now hanging on the walls. Their table legs had been removed and were now towering slabs of wood that stretched far beyond the enchanted sky, rising, rising forever.

There were four wooden plaques, each engraved with the names of their respective houses. Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor. Below the house names hundreds and hundreds of words. Too small for Hermione to read from where she stood.

As she neared the Gryffindor plaque, in front of which Harry and Ginny were now quietly pointing at, she saw the words were in fact names. Hundreds of names. Names of those who had died over the years of fighting with Voldemort and the Death Eaters.

She found Fred's name, and Lupins, both at the top of the list. Those Who Fought and Died at Hogwarts. There were some names she had heard of, and many more she hadn't. She wanted to go nearer still, she wanted to touch the plaque and feel the grooves and dents on the table that she had always thought gave it character. Instead, Ron pulled her further along the wall, where he pointed out a smaller plaque, nested between that of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. One whose size was almost dwarfed by the sheer magnitude of the banquet tables.

Those who answered the call for help.

Dobby. The tears were now burning her eyes. Dobby's name amongst the bravest of the brave. There were names of centaurs and house elves and even goblins. We are all together, Hermione thought, and Dobby is remembered.

Before she could say anything to Ron, Peeves' voiced suddenly boomed though the Great Hall. He was singing the Hogwarts song, his tune mirroring that of the tune Fred and George and used so many years ago.

Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,

Teach us something, please,

Whether we be old and bald

Or young with scabby knees,

Our heads could do with filling

With some interesting stuff,

For now they're bare and full of air,

Dead flies and bits of fluff,

So teach us things worth knowing,

Bring back what we've forgot,

Just do your best, we'll do the rest,

And learn until our brains all rot

She was undoubtedly back at Hogwarts and she was here to stay.

The End

Note: Ah cheese. So much fwuff. I hope you enjoyed this. If not, I'm sure my bruised ego can deal with it. :-D Btw, I can never figure out how to write for Luna. What in the world does she say?