AN: Special AN at the end.

Disclaimer: I sound too Yankee-Doodle-Dandy to be JK Rowling.

Title: This Too Shall Pass

Word Count: 920

Summary: Reboot! The hardest thing to do after a war is to wake up. 101 one-shots in a gender-bended universe of people getting better.

She started burning the letters when the moon was slipping away.

There were several of them carefully tucked away in her moleskin pouch. All of them had been written throughout her time with Roy and Hector as they were hunting for Horcruxes. Halley had forgotten about them.

That was until now.

The first letter was for Hagrid. She traced the last two words that were at the bottom of the page—thank you. Thank you for being the first person who had brought her into the Wizarding World. Thank you for the unwavering confidence and support. Thank you for the rocks cakes and tea. She cast the spell non-verbally, and fire made the parchment curl and wither under her wand. It was soon ashes on Beatrice's floor.

There were more, of course. Halley was still surprised that she had even found the time to write so many letters. The next was for Arthur and Molly ('thank you for taking me in, despite all of the dangers that I'd brought to your family'), McGonagall ('I hope one day you find another reckless First Year to play Quidditch'), little Teddy ('I'm sorry for not being there to see you grow up'), but when she came to the ones she wrote for Rory and Hector, she paused. Those two in particular had been done at what felt like their darkest parts while on the run.

Halley spared them another look, a quick read. She smiled to herself at the blunt advice she had given Rory ('just kiss Hector already'), but it vanished when she reached the end. The same words had been repeated in Hector's, a last wish to the both of them to not name any future children after her.

She burned the two letters without another look out of fear. She continued.

Next were Priscilla ('your family will forgive you'), Nellie ('you are still one of the bravest people that I have ever known'), Luce ('make sure you find a Crumple Horned Snorkack'), Felicity and Georgia ('whatever happens, I want you two to continue making people laugh'), Tonks (you're going to be a fantastic mother'), and—it broke her heart to read the letter—Remus ('you are not a monster, you are not alone, you are my family'). There were various other letters, miscellaneous information about where and who her belongings should go to, another detailed list for her finances, instructions for a grave, a message for the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army, and even a missive for the Dursleys that had been done out of gleeful spite. She thankfully no longer had a use for these letters now that she was among the living.

It's as if you knew, whispered a soft voice in the back of Halley's mind, that you wouldn't be making out of this war alive. For a brief moment, she was back in the forest. Everything was quiet around her, and Tom Riddle was raising his wand…

But I did! She argued back, I survived and won. I'm still alive!

She picked up the last letter. Instead of crouching, she sat down on the floor, her back against her opened school trunk. The small piles of ashes and parchment remains had been Vanished.

Halley opened the letter. Without her glasses and in the fading moonlight, she was unable to focus on reading what she had written. Random passages and words would stand out clearly before her tears made them blurry again.

I'm sorry, she had started in one section. I'm sorry for leaving, I'm sorry that I have ruined all chances of a future with you… The words became illegible. They jumped and leaped at her, bringing back her raw pain. There's a part of me that wants to make through this kicking and screaming, but I think I'm using up all my chances of surviving this…I want to wake up next to you one day… it scares me to think that there's a good chance that I'm falling in love with you. I think I have been for years…

She traced the final few sentences with her wand, gold and red sparks scattered over the parchment.

I wish we had more time together. I wish for so many things that are never going to happen, not when I have this scar and prophecy.

I love you, Gideon, and I'm sorry that this had to happen.

Eyes open and gaze hard, Halley slashed at the letter. She held onto the parchment as it burned, the fire hot and blistering her skin. She let the ashes fall to the floor.

After some time later, Halley stood back up. She left the bedroom and quietly made her way up the stairs.

She then came to his door and silently entered, not accidentally waking him until she made her way under the covers.

"What's wrong?" Gid muttered sleepily. He started to sit up.

Halley pushed him back down into bed. "Nothing," she answered, meaning it. "Nothing is wrong." She studied his face one last time before she let her head fall on his chest. She felt his arms circle around her, his lips ghosting over the top of her head. He relaxed around her, and when he drifted back to sleep, Halley whispered the words into his skin, hoping that they would reach him in dreams.

Eventually, she closed her eyes and felt the early sun's warmth fall over her through the window.

She allowed herself to dream, knowing that she had a future in front of her.

AN: And after much consideration for the last six months, I think I'm going to call quits on this fic.

Various reasons: I'm burned out from my nightmarish sophomore year, inspiration is fleeting, not a lot of feedback, etc etc etc etc. While I still very much appreciate what feedback has been given to me in the forms of PMs and reviews, I don't think I can keep this going anymore. I've been writing this specific AU for ages, and I think now's a good time to take a step back. I think I'll also stop it with the multi-chaps, because it's obvious after a certain point that I'm just typing into a void.

Um, clarification-wise:

- This chapter leaves on a happier note because screw the original plans. Hell, screw my timeline for the AU entirely.

- This could be updated again in a possible future if the motivation does strike.

- For reassurance and who knows what could happen, nothing will be deleted at this point on any site (here and ao3).

- In addition to still taking short ficlet requests on my blog, I'll continue to do one-shots when I'm able to motivate myself to write better.

I'm tired of my writing and how it's not going as planned; I'm tired of having a million ideas stuck in my head that I don't feel capable of doing. I'm sorry that it sucks that this has to end this way.

Well, I now feel like a certified ass.