Dislcaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the original Harry Potter franchise. They all came from the wonderful brain of JK Rowling.

This is my first fan-fic... I hope you like it! Please Review!

Chapter One

Hermione Granger dragged her tired and broken body up to the girl's dormitory in the Gryffindor Tower. After all that had happened that night, she doubted that she would be able to sleep, but going through the motions of a familiar routine might help her forget some of what had happened that day. Harry and Ron had gone to bed long ago, but she had stayed awake thinking about all that had happened and how what had gone down that night at Hogwarts would affect her future, and the futures of all those that she loved.

Laying her body down on her bed, she fell asleep almost immediately, to her surprise.

By the time she awoke the next morning, it was close to ten a.m. Although she had slept through the night, she felt like she hadn't slept in days. Looking around the dorm though, she discovered she wasn't the only one to have overslept. She pulled on some clothes, and went down to the common room, where she found Ron and Harry sitting on the couch in front of the fire, each eating a piece of toast that must have come from the plate sitting between them.

"Morning" she said, grabbing a piece of toast, and sitting down on the floor between them. "Get any sleep?"

"A little" replied Ron. "I couldn't stop thinking. I kept seeing Fred… right before… it…happened." As he said this last part, he choked up, and closed his eyes as tears began to squeeze out at the memory of the brother he had lost only the night before.

Hermione moved to sit on the couch next to him, and took his hand, squeezing it tightly. Ron smiled weakly, and wiped his eyes before asking "So what's next?" "I reckon we should go home with mum and dad for Fred's funeral, but then what?"

Harry spoke up for the first time all morning. "I think that after the funeral, we should all move into Grimmauld Place. Since we don't have the ministry and the Death Eaters trying to get in there to find me, I reckon that the place would be a good place to go. See if any one else wants to move in with us."

Ron and Hermione nodded their consent, and again fell silent for a time. Hermione broke the silence by saying "I don't know about you two," Hermione said, "but I'm coming back to Hogwarts next year. I'm going to talk to McGonagall about it soon. I know that I'm already doing magic advanced what we would have learned in our seventh year, but I would like to be able to say that I've completed Hogwarts, and to be able to take my N.E.W.T.'s before I pursue a career. Compared to what we've done in the last year, Hogwarts will feel like a vacation. Before term starts, I'm going to try to find my mum and dad in Australia so that they can come back home."

"That sounds like something that I would like to do too." Ron said. "I know that I'm never going to be as good at magic as you are, Hermione, but I would like to advance a little bit further. Besides, if I'm going to be an Auror, it would be worth it for me to know a bit more magic."

"Me as well" Harry said. "I have a feeling that we won't be the only ones coming back; just think: Neville spent a majority of the year either being beat up by the Carrows or hiding in the room of requirement. Same with Seamus. Dean was on the run for most of the year. And there's bound a lot of kids pulled out by there parents before things got really bad… pulled out and into hiding. They'd want to finish their education too."

"So that settles it then." Hermione said. "We're all coming back to Hogwarts next year. We should speak to McGonagall about that sometime… she has a lot on her mind right now. And until school starts, we're going to be at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place."

Harry and Ron nodded their consent, and the trio finished their toast in silence.

Standing up, Hermione pulled Ron up with her. Looking at him and Harry, still sitting on the couch, she said "We should go down to the Great Hall. I have a feeling that your mum is going to want her whole family together, Ron".

Together, they descended the stairs leading to the Great Hall, where they went and sat down next to Mrs. Weasley. She pulled Ron to her, giving him a smothering hug, before doing the same to Harry and Hermione, in turn. "I'm so glad you're all safe! I was worried sick about you all!" She looked them all up and down sadly, as if to make sure that they looked all right, before allowing them to sit down across from her.

Ron, under the table, grabbed Hermione's hand.