Dawn broke over the grounds at Hogwarts, sunlight leaking gently through the early morning mist that still hung over the grounds. Birds were chirping in the Forbidden Forest and the hum of insects were starting for the day.

It was one of those perfect summer days where the students of Hogwarts usually would be out by the lake, spending time between classes or after exams. The end of the school year was always a bittersweet mix of excitement for the summer and sadness at leaving the school and friends behind.

Today, however, there was no loud conversation in the Great Hall, no laughter in the corridors. In fact, there were very few students still remaining at the school at all. For those who remained, the mood in the castle was hushed and quiet. Few people spoke as they went about their tasks, and when they did it was with lowered voices, as if any volume at all might shatter the peace and calm that surrounded them. Interspersed with the silence and grief, however, was an air of excitement, of hope, and of rebirth.

Because today was the day after the Great Battle of Hogwarts. Voldemort was gone, once and for all. His reign of terror had finally ended.

Harry Potter, the boy who had brought about this miraculous feat, was sleeping fitfully in a couch in the Gryffindor common room. Ron and Hermione, his constant companions of the last 7 years were sleeping on the floor nearby, Ron's arm flung protectively over Hermione.

Other Gryffindor students had also returned to the common room to sleep. There were a handful of students sleeping on the floor, on chairs, and couches. The dormitories had been completely destroyed during the battle and so had the four poster beds that normally housed them.

There was a creak as the Fat Lady's portrait swung open and Professor McGonagall stepped into the common room. Her keen eyes scanned the room and took in the sight around her. Her heart was heavy as she noted the absences of the student's whose bodies remained in the Great Hall - Colin Creevey, Fred Weasley, Lavender Brown…

Eyes finally settling on the object she was seeking, she trod carefully through the sleeping students toward Harry Potter.

He looked a fright. His robes were singed at the hems and his face was covered with soot and blood. His hair was a mess even by his usual untidy standard. Her heart broke when she saw his face – not one of a boy sleeping restfully, a burden lifted, but a young man, with the weight of the world on his shoulders, still fighting a battle in his mind.

This is when she saw that his famous lightning bolt scar - which she had hardly noticed for the years she had known him - now stood out livid on his face, just as it had 17 years ago, when she watched him sleep on doorstep of Privet Drive.

If only James and Lily could have known him…

Against all odds, Harry had overcome. He was alive and whole. He had vanquished Voldemort with the fearlessness of Godric Gryffindor himself. She could hear him in her mind, "try for some remorse, Riddle…" Yet Voldemort would not, could not - she suspected- understand the power and wisdom of these words. And in the end was vanquished by his own ignorance of all that Harry was…

Dumbledore would have been so proud. She was so proud. Tears pricked her eyes, but she blinked them away – there would be time later for tears – and she did what she came to do.

Harry startled awake with a soft touch on his shoulder. He lurched into a sitting position, heart thumping, disoriented, fumbling for his glasses – and his wand – why on earth would he not have gone to bed holding his wand? When he looked up to see the kind eyes of Professor McGonagall staring down at him.

"Oh," was all he said, his heart still thumping. "Is there…? What can…?"

"Oh Harry-" she started to come undone, but then pulled herself back together- "Harry, there is a meeting of the Order in the Headmaster's office. We need to speak with you urgently, I'm afraid, or else I would have let you sleep longer..."

"Right," he said, and stood up, wobbling a little on his feet while he re-equilibrated, shaking his head to try to clear it, and followed Professor McGonagall out the portrait hole.

His mind was spinning as his legs and feet struggled to keep him upright. He was more tired than he had ever been in his life. Kreacher had brought him some food before he slept, but even with a full stomach he hadn't slept restfully, his mind had been continually plagued with nightmares of flashes of green light, high-pitched laughter, and bodies – bodies of not just Fred, Remus, and Tonks – but of everyone that he cared about – Ron, Hermione, Hagrid, Ginny…

"Dumbledore," said Professor McGonagall – and Harry stopped abruptly, barely realizing where they had been walking, when he saw that they had already reached the Gargoyle statue. It apparently had been repaired sometime in the last few hours. He climbed the stairs behind McGonagall, who took every step with effort. It was like she had aged 10 years overnight.

He paused before crossing the threshold and he observed what remained of Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix. Remus and Tonks' wands lay on the table before him and his heart gave a lurch. Mrs. Weasley sat, tears falling, as Mr. Weasley comforted her, a haunted expression on his own face. Bill was next to them, resting his head on the back of his chair, looking wan and exhausted. Even Mrs. Figg and Dedalus Diggle were there, normally so cheerful, but now looking worse for the wear.

As he entered, everyone turned to look toward him and an unseen energy seemed to breathe life back into the room. He didn't know how to react or feel as he saw the looks of awe and adoration in the eyes of these accomplished wizards and witches. After a moment, Dedalus' face broke into a beaming smile, and he stood and began to clap. Taking his lead, the rest of the room joined in his standing applause.

"I think I can speak for everyone in this room - you were incredible, Harry. Thank you, from the entire wizarding world," Kingsley said quietly, with pride gleaming from his eyes, and pulled Harry into a one-armed hug as the applause settled down.

Harry tried to smile and feel appreciation for the honor, but mostly he just felt numb and exhausted. His entire being ached for sleep.

Kingsley motioned for everyone to sit. Harry reminded himself that Kingsley was now the temporary Minister. Finally someone trustworthy, he thought.

Kingsley looked around the room and continued, "So then - I have some news to bring everyone up to date. As soon as Voldemort died, the Death Eaters fled. The only Death Eater we managed to capture was MacNair - he is currently being held in Hagrid's hut. We don't know how many are yet at large, but we do know some of the deceased - Bellatrix Lestrange," he looked at Mrs. Weasley as he said this, "Antonin Dolohov, Fenrir Grayback, Corban Yaxley, Thorfinn Rowle, Damien Travers. And- as we all heard from Harry yesterday- Severus Snape. Did I miss any?"

There was a brief murmur and a shaking of heads. Harry didn't feel much like talking, but figured he should add in his count. He said quietly, "Peter Pettigrew is dead - although he didn't die here, he died a few days ago, and more recently, Vincent Crabbe, junior..."

Everyone was quiet for a minute. Then Bill spoke up seriously, "It seems to me that Harry has a bit more of the story than the rest of us, and I, for one, would like to hear it."

Harry's heart sped up. Memories began flooding him and he gripped the edge of the table. He really didn't want to recount the story again… not yet.

Mrs. Weasley, watching him closely, turned to her eldest, and managed to choke out- "Bill, let Harry be. He's been through so much and no doubt he needs some rest and some time before-"

But Kingsley interrupted "- I'm sorry Molly, but I have to agree with Bill. This is precisely why I sent Minerva to wake him. We need information and we need it now. Time is of the essence. Just because Voldemort is gone, doesn't mean that we're done. We're in control of the Ministry again, but just by a hair. Harry, no doubt, knows more of this story than anyone here at this table and I suspect he has important information that will help us as we move forward."

He turned to Harry, "what can you tell us?"

Despite his mind's furious protests against reopening the freshly staunched wounds, Harry gritted his teeth once again, to do his duty.

He hardly knew how, but he managed to hold his emotions apart - this telling was a recitation of facts, nothing more. In fact, it was as if someone else was speaking, and he was a casual observer, a witness to the events of someone else's life. It couldn't possibly be his.

After a year of secrecy, he was finally divulged the mission Dumbledore had entrusted to him- that he, Ron, and Hermione were to find and destroy the 7 Horcruxes and return Voldemort to a mortal state.

He told them about Riddle's Diary, and Marvolo Gaunt's ring. He talked about the failed mission with Dumbledore, and how Dumbledore had consumed a potion rendering him too weak to return to Hogwarts. He told how he himself had to apparate them back to Hogsmeade and how, upon their arrival, he and Dumbledore rushed into the trap set by Draco Malfoy.

"Wait, Harry, you mean to say side-along apparated Dumbledore across the entire country when you were just 16, and unlicensed... " Kingsley cut in looking astonished, at Harry.

"Er, well, .technically I'm still not licensed - "

"Yes, yes… that's beside the point. It's just rather powerful magic..."

Was it? He shrugged off the compliment. He was hollow. It wasn't important. Fred was important. Remus and Tonks were important.

He pulled himself out of his morbid thoughts and moved on to his tale about finding Slytherin's locket- how Mundungus had stolen it, and how Umbridge had purchased it and paraded it as if it were her own family heirloom. He then launched into the story about the Ministry break-in,with polyjuice-

"Hah!" said Arthur, in quiet triumph. "We always wondered who had been bold and crazy enough to break into the Ministry right under Umbridge's puggy little nose. I heard rumors of a stag patronus… but we couldn't be sure... Harry Potter sightings were quite over-reported this year, I must say."

Harry just nodded, "Ron and I talked to you, Mr. Weasley. I was Albert Runcorn, and Ron was Mr. Cattermore. We tried to give you a warning- that they were tracking you-"

He looked at Harry in wonder, "I had always wondered- It was so out of character - Runcorn? Remarkable, just remarkable..." he said, and then became quiet.

Then Harry moved from the Ministry to their journey through the countryside.

He glossed over the personal strife - the lack of food, the arguing, the effect the locket had on Ron. He hesitated and chose not to tell them about Ron's abandonment of the quest - he glanced at Bill, who looked at him gratefully - apparently they both felt similarly about keeping that information private, for Ron's sake.

He told about his trip to Godric's Hollow and the trap that had been laid for him. How Nagini had been waiting, speaking only to him when no one else could hear -

He told them of the Snape's patronus and finding Gryffindor's sword, and nearly drowning in the ice cold water. He told them, then, of Ron's heroism, how he saved Harry's life and defeated the piece of Voldemort's soul that had remained in the locket.

"Our Ron did that?" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed feelingly. "Oh Arthur-"

Next he told about their moments at Malfoy Manor - Draco's apparent defection from the Death Eater cause, Peter Pettigrew's death by his magicked hand, Bellatrix's queries that gave up the secret of the next Horcrux at Gringotts...

This lead them to Shell Cottage- and Bill chimed in, "So that's why you struck a bargain with Griphook. You needed him to get you into the Lestrange vault at Gringotts." He looked bewildered, then, "No one has ever successfully bribed a Gringotts goblin. What on earth did you promise him that made him agree to your request?"

"The sword of Gryffindor," Harry replied, and eyebrows shot up around the room and there was a murmur of dismay.

"Then how on earth did Longbottom…?" Professor McGonagall began, but Harry said:

"The Sorting Hat. That's how I found it, initially, my second year. Dumbledore said that a true Gryffindor could always pull the sword from the Sorting Hat in times of need. It's not an object that has any one true owner..."

McGonagall's eyes shone with a vindicated look. Harry went on.

He told of their acquisition of Hufflepuff's cup, and their daring escape from Gringotts on the back of the pale dragon.

And finally- about his burning vision as he knew what Voldemort knew- that he, Harry, was hunting and destroying Horcruxes.

They knew most of what happened next - for they had all come to Hogwarts to fight for him… to protect him and his mission… at whatever cost...

He managed to fill in the remaining details of the day - had it only been yesterday? - the discovery of Ravenclaw's diadem, Ron and Hermione's return to the Chamber of Secrets to retrieve the basilisk fangs - the death of Crabbe in the Room of Requirement - saving Malfoy and Goyle from the Fiendfyre.

He spoke about his trip to the Shrieking Shack to attempt to kill the 6th Horcrux, Nagini, and how instead he had witnessed Voldemort's pointless betrayal of Snape to obtain the Elder Wand- how Snape had given Harry his memories that proved his innocence and how he had died, knowing that he had died protecting Harry, all for Lily Evans...

It was McGonagall, who said angrily: "Potter - surely you can't be serious? I heard what you said in the Great Hall, but it's just too incredible to believe. Harry- this was the man that just a year ago you saw murder Albus Dumbledore in cold blood. I know there was no love lost between you. You can't seriously believe that he is innocent in all of this..."

But Harry shook his head, "It was all in his memories, Professor. They hadn't been altered. Everything - he was acting on Dumbledore's orders. Snape didn't want to do it. But, they both knew Dumbledore was dying from the curse on Gaunt's ring. Dumbledore insisted that if the time came, that Snape needed to be the one to kill him - to protect the Elder Wand. To protect my survival, until… "

McGonagall snorted - apparently this evidence of heroism still hadn't completely exonerated Severus Snape in her mind.

But Kingsley interrupted - his keen mind had already jumped ahead- "Harry… your scar... your connection to Voldemort...you were the last Horcrux, weren't you?"

Harry bowed his head.

The entire room was frozen. Harry's mind wandered back to the Forbidden Forest and his parents… remembering his final thoughts of Ginny… he thought of King's Cross Station, of Dumbledore...

"I saw Neville just before I went to the Forbidden Forest and warned him- that no matter what happened, Nagini must be killed. I figured if I was going to die, at least I could ensure Voldemort's return to a mortal state- able to be killed by one of you, perhaps.

"I went into the forest, and met Voldemort and his Death Eaters. I didn't do anything. I just stood there. And he cast the avada kedavra. I thought I would die."

Everyone was silent, staring at him. He couldn't bear the looks on their faces - Mrs. Weasley had tears streaming down her cheeks again. He wished she would stop.

He couldn't tell them, couldn't explain… not even Ron and Hermione knew the entirety of what he had seen...

In the end he said, "There was an additional connection between us - between Voldemort and me. Not just that I was the Horcrux he never intended to make, but that he had used my blood- my mother's blood- in his resurrection. His life wasn't just tethered to mine- I was tethered to his while he lived. Dumbledore suspected, I think, but never said..."

They knew the rest - they had witnessed it. They were all silent for a long moment, each lost in their own thoughts and memories of the day before. Hagrid carrying Harry's limp form, the cries of grief, the battle that ensued - his duel with Tom Riddle...

It was Elphias Doge who finally broke the silence: "Everyone who witnessed Mr. Potter's duel with You Know Who will know Harry is now the true master of the Elder Wand."

Harry looked up sharply. He had to admit that he hadn't thought about that. After defeating his nemesis, would he still be a marked man?

Will I ever live a normal life?

"Yes," Kingsley responded, darkly. "Which is why I must insist on continuing the security on all of our residences - Grimmauld Place included, Harry - as well as the Ministry. At least until we can apprehend the remaining Death Eaters and ensure The Ministry is in proper hands. The Aurors will be taking over the Death Eater search and arrest team. I was going to have them start with the Malfoys, but from what Harry here has said I might want to reconsider this… what's your thought on that, Harry?"

It took a moment for Harry to realize that Kingsley was directing the question at him.

"Er- me…?"

Kingsley nodded.

Harry looked around the room of wizards and witches - everyone his senior. He thought back to when he would have loved nothing more than to be included in this group and these discussions. But now that it was here, he felt strange about it. He was just a 17 year old after all. He may have brought Voldemort down, but it was mostly fate and dumb luck, he thought. Surely Kingsley, Arthur Weasley, or McGonagall would have better, more experienced, advice…?

Everyone was looking at him, expectantly. Harry picked at a small crevice in the table for a moment before he spoke, awkwardly, "Well… I - I guess that if it were me, I'd want to look at their motives and allegiances. It seems to me that the only people the Malfoys are loyal to are each other. Really, they probably wanted Voldemort gone almost as much as we did, in the end. Rather than arresting them, I think it might be better to have them on our side, as informants... You'll have to offer protections to the family, of course, because the other Death Eaters will despise them for it… but I think they'll agree to it. And part of the arrangement absolutely needs to be kicking Lucius off the Wizengamot and the Board of Governors… "

Harry saw Bill and Kingsley exchange a glance with raised eyebrows.

"Lucius has always been a slippery git, but I think after his last stint he's going to be keen on avoiding Azkaban. I agree with Potter. Let him be our informant," Hestia Jones said harshly.

"Then it's done," Kingsley said. "Unless anyone disagrees?"

No one did.

And they spent the remainder of the meeting hashing out details of how to re-secure the Ministry and begin the Death Eater search. It was determined that Bill would be returning to Gringotts to help smooth over Harry's robbery and subsequent destruction. The Weasleys agreed to talk to Charlie and Percy about taking up key posts within the Ministry.

Kingsley and Arthur began talking together about specific witches and wizards in the Ministry that they could trust and try to promote.

And finally they returned to the topic of the Elder Wand.

"Potter," said McGonagall- she had returned to her usual brusque tone. "A tool like the Elder Wand… it's not just any wand. It's the most powerful wand in the world. You should use caution… with great power comes even greater responsibility…"

She trailed off and he wondered if she was thinking about him casting the cruciatus curse on the Carrows the day prior. Had it really just been a day? It felt like a lifetime ago.

"I'm actually not planning to use it," he replied, looking at her. "I fixed my old wand with it, you see." And he pulled out his original Ollivanders wand, the one with Fawkes feather. He gave a wry smile that didn't reach his eyes, "Plus, I also have Draco's wand, so I can't really see the use of having a third.."

He looked around the room and could see mixed feelings registering with the assembled group.

Kingsley, appearing somewhat baffled, said, "well it's your decision to make, Harry, but I must say, it's an unusual one…"

Professor McGonagall and Arthur Weasley, he noticed, were looking at him with pride.

Finally, after two more hours of strategy planning and plotting, the meeting was adjourned and Harry stood to leave with the rest. However, Kingsley grabbed him by the arm and held him back as the rest of the Order filed from the room.

"Harry," he began, "as you know, the Ministry desperately needs people that we can trust. Merlin knows you've proved yourself one hundred times over," he looked, for the first time tonight, unsure of himself. "Bloody buggering hell… I don't feel like I should even be asking you this, and if Molly knew, she'd likely slit my throat... But we desperately need the help and I know you'd be great for the job...

"Harry, I want you to join the Auror department. I've been talking it over with Robards already - I'm confident we could get you up to speed in a second-"

"I'm in," interrupted Harry without a second thought.

"Really?" Kingsley looked startled at the immediacy of Harry's acceptance.

Harry nodded, and Kingsley visibly relaxed.

"So when should I meet you at the Ministry? If it's not too much to ask, I might need one or two days… I want to see Teddy-" Ever since he had found out that Remus and Tonks had died, he was determined to fill his role as godfather. And he still needed to talk to Ginny… and he intended very much to make up for lost time.

But Kingsley interrupted his thought, "Harry, if you show up before September first I'll hex you."

"But-" Harry cut in.

"Seriously. I won't lie - we need you- but I think we can manage to take the reigns for a bit. You've done what no other wizard could do - you've contributed more than your share to this fight. If I were in your shoes I'd probably hang up my cloak and retire to the Pacific and let everyone else get on with handling the rest.

He shook his head, "No, Harry, you need a break. Consider it a mandatory summer holiday."

He tried to protest, but Kingsley wasn't hearing it. He turned and left the office.

Harry was alone, except with the portraits on the wall.

Dumbledore's blue-eyed smile twinkled up at him. He acknowledged Dumbledore with a sleepy yawn. He left the office, then, returning to the common room.

He was asleep as soon as his head hit the cushion.