Chapter 3

Harry walked out of the courtroom and released a sigh, feeling some of his tension disperse. He had always hated being the center of attention, and the scene back there was no exception. Still, he knew that he'd had to do it. The Malfoys definitely weren't his favorite people, but that didn't mean they deserved to go to Azkaban for being forced to stay in a war they no longer wanted to be a part of.

"That was a good thing you did back there, Mr. Potter."

Harry's eyes snapped up from the ground to see Amelia Bones and, surprisingly, Professor McGonagall. The elderly witch looked slightly more worn than when he'd last seen her, though there was a glint of life in her eyes that hadn't been there before.

"Professor! I – what are you doing here?" Harry asked, blinking at the pair of witches in confusion. "I thought you would still be at Hogwarts working on rebuilding the school. Is something wrong?" The Headmistress smiled at him fondly as she responded.

"No, Mr. Potter, nothing is wrong. I am still supervising the reconstruction of the school, which is coming along well, if rather slowly. I am here at the request of an old friend of mine, a man by the name of Sorvin Serregus. He asked a favor of me, and I accepted." McGonagall scrutinized Harry for a moment, the lines of her face deepening slightly in concern as her eyes roamed his features. She hesitated for a moment, until she decided to continue.

"Mr. Potter – " she began, until Harry cut her off.

"Harry."

"Pardon?" she asked, looking somewhat startled. Harry gave her a thin smile, the only kind he seemed capable of these days, and shifted his weight slightly awkwardly.

"Call me Harry. I think, after everything, that would be alright. Don't you?" His professor studied him for a moment, then broke out into a smile of her own. It was weaker than he had seen it in the past, which was only to be expected, however it was brighter than most that he had seen since the final battle.

"Very well, Harry. In that case, you may call me Minerva, though I will request that you abstain from using the nickname your father and Sirius insisted on calling me." The reminder was almost enough to startle a sharp bark of laughter out of Harry, but the amusement died out before a single breath of air could leave his lungs.

"I'd almost forgotten they used to call you 'Minnie', what with everything that's happened." He paused for a moment as memories began to chip away at the mental wall he had put around them. After he managed to push them back again, Harry refocused his attention on Profe – on Minerva. "I believe you were about to say something, Minerva, before I interrupted?"

"Oh yes," The Headmistress blinked as her attention returned to their conversation as well. "It occurred to me recently that Hogwarts was as much of a home to you as it was to me. I wished to extend the invitation to stop by the castle whenever you would like, whether you choose to assist in rebuilding or not. I wish for you to know that whether the castle is completely whole or not, you will always find a home there, should you desire it."

Harry didn't know how to respond. There was a tight feeling in his chest, and his eyes felt strangely hot. He tipped his head down, allowing his unruly hair to hide his expression as the most emotion he'd felt since the end of the war, besides fear from his dreams, coursed through his veins. He knew Minerva had noticed and was pretending not to as she suddenly took an intense interest in a nearby statue. Harry allowed himself a moment more before he forced himself back into composure.

"Thank you." His voice was hoarser than he would have liked, but when he next spoke it had almost returned to normal. "I'll keep that in mind. Now, I apologize, Madam Bones, for not addressing you sooner."

Minerva's gaze was knowing, but she said nothing about his obvious change of subject. Amelia looked as serious as ever, though Harry thought he could see a hint of sympathy in her gaze as he turned from his professor to her.

"No worries, Mr. Potter, I understand that your attention was occupied elsewhere." Harry suddenly found himself under scrutiny, and had to fight the instinct to step back and create some distance between himself and the witch. "You always manage to surprise me, despite how many times it has happened by now."

"Er, sorry?" Harry wasn't entirely sure what the correct response to her comment would be. Madam Bones chuckled slightly, and Harry was surprised to learn she even could. From the look the Headmistress was giving the other witch, it seemed Minerva was surprised as well.

"That was a compliment, Mr. Potter." Sobering slightly, she continued. "I have no doubt that today you saved three more lives, besides the ones you already have by winning the war. Don't forget that anytime soon." Harry's insides squirmed, the memory of his nightmares surfacing just enough to make him uncomfortable. He flicked his eyes to the side, and didn't respond.

"Harry," the use of his name caused his eyes to snap back to the stern witch in surprise, startled by the softer look on her face and the slightly gentler tone, "if there's one thing that I have learned about war, it is that you cannot save everyone, so you save who you can. There will be those who will tell you that you shouldn't have saved the Malfoys. Don't listen to them. Understand?"

Harry knew he was gaping slightly, but he couldn't bring himself to care. After a moment he realized that she was still waiting for a response, and his mouth snapped shut as he gave her a single nod. He felt distinctly uncomfortable, yet also a sense of relief that he hadn't realized he needed. Madam Bones nodded, seemingly satisfied for the moment.

"Good. Well then, I must be off. The girls are waiting for me back home, and it is nearing the time I said I would return." She shifted her purse around and dug through it for a moment before taking out a card and handing it to him. Harry glanced at it and saw what appeared to be an address, written in a practical black font. "This is my Floo address. Use it if you ever need something."

With that, she began walking down the hallway towards the elevator. Harry stared at the card for a moment longer in silence, hearing her footsteps echo throughout the corridor. Seized by a sudden sense of urgency, he turned around to call after her.

"Madam Bones!" At the sound of her name, the Head of the DMLE turned to face him, her eyebrow raised. "Could you let Susan and Hannah know that I'm glad they are okay? And . . . thank you, for this I mean." Harry held up the card, feeling somewhat awkward. After a moment, some of Amelia's rigidity dropped, and Harry was suddenly aware that she was more than just the Head of the DMLE; she was also a woman with a life and a family.

"I'll be sure to pass along the message, Mr. Potter, thank you. As for the card, I was very fond of your parents. Had circumstances been different, you might have ended up living with Susan and me. As that didn't happen, I'd say this is the next best thing, wouldn't you?"

Without waiting for a response, she continued down the hall, disappearing out of sight several moments later. Harry stared after her with a mild surprise before turning back to Minerva, who looked slightly stunned at the direction their conversation had gone. He hesitated for a second, then asked the question he'd had since the Headmistress had first brought the subject up.

"So, you said something about rebuilding Hogwarts?" Minerva smiled, seeing where his train of thought was going.

"Yes, I did. There are several Ministry assigned helpers, however due to the chaos that He-Who- Voldemort, I mean," Harry was slightly impressed by the fierceness with which the elderly witch said Voldemort's name, "left behind, they couldn't spare very many. As it is, most of the people working on the castle are volunteers, and even still there are very few of us. So many people are still gathering up the fragments of their previous lives and grieving the ones they have lost; they aren't terribly interested in the school at the moment."

Harry considered her, seeing for the first time since they began speaking the faint traces of her own grief in her expression. He wondered who she had lost to this war, and the last, for that matter. However, instead of wallowing in her pain, she had managed to funnel it into putting her life back together, seemingly intent on making it even better than before. At that moment, Harry wished he had some of her strength within himself, as well.

"Perhaps I might be able to lend you a hand. It would be good to get out of my head for a while, and my house as well. I don't think I've left it since I moved in, other than to get groceries and come here." Minerva looked at him with a hint of worry in her eyes.

"You are taking care of yourself, aren't you Harry? I've spoken to Mrs. Weasley several times over the past few months to check in, and she mentioned that she hadn't seen you since the Battle. Frankly, she seemed rather worried about you, and she mentioned that the others were, too."

A flash of Ginny's tear-streaked face suddenly flashed through Harry's mind, followed by Ron's stricken look, Mrs. Weasley's wails of grief, George's inconsolable yells, Fred's prone body. A tidal wave of guilt hit Harry directly in the stomach, and he had to take a minute to catch his breath again and wrestle his emotions back into their box. This was the main reason he wanted – no, needed a distraction. It wasn't enough to live through all of their deaths again at night, he also had to relive them during the day and hope he didn't give away that something was wrong.

"I'm fine, Minerva," he finally said, looking her square in the eye. "I've been giving them their space to grieve. They lost a family member and went through a lot of hardship over the past year. They don't need an outsider butting in at the moment."

It was clear that Minerva wanted to press the issue, but Harry had clearly drawn a line, and there was nothing else she could do. After visibly warring with herself for several minutes, she let out a sigh, and shook her head.

"Very well. But don't forget that you went through hardships as well, and that you have a right to be with your family as well, even if they aren't related to you by blood." Seeing Harry's expression begin to close off further, Minerva finally moved on. "Your help rebuilding the castle would be much appreciated, though, thank you for the offer." Harry gave a thin smile, glad to finally be moving back to the original topic.

"Of course. Just let me know what needs doing and I'll see if I can be of any help."