The morning was bright and clear through the windows, but Harry felt anything but those two things. After the tumultuous events of the previous evening, the fact he had even recovered enough already that he could stand without wincing was a testament as much to Madam Pomfrey as his own resilience. He was a mess of emotions, not really sure what he was feeling, and this made sitting here, by Dumbledore's bedside, all the harder, even if Hermione was by his side, her hand wrapped tightly in one of his.

"There really is no need to look so solemn, Harry. As I said to you once before, there is little reason to fear the end, and especially not now."

Dumbledore's voice was calm, but frailer than Harry liked, and Harry did not like it at all. He had known this was coming however, had known ever since Dumbledore had revealed what had happened when he'd found the ring, but it did little to make him feel any less miserable about it. He was only glad Pomfrey had accepted Dumbledore's wish to remain in his private quarters, in the end.

"I know, but I still don't like it. I don't know what we're going to do without you."

Harry spoke softly, trying to keep control over his voice, and he knew it wasn't working very well as Hermione shifted closer to him, tightening her grip. Dumbledore, however, simply smiled in his old, typical way.

"Well, that's really up to you to decide now, Harry. I don't think there's anything more either of you could learn from me that the other professors could not teach you, or that your friends could not help you with."

He paused, closing his eyes for a few moments and Fawkes, who was perched beside Dumbledore's head, brushed a wing softly against the headmaster's head, which made his open his eyes again with a small smile.

"Always the demanding one, aren't you Fawkes?"

The phoenix simply looked at him, and it was evident Dumbledore got the message, whatever that may have been, as he turned to Harry with a sigh.

"I only have one thing left to ask of you, Harry, and I hope it isn't too much. Fawkes here, as you know, will remain long after I am gone, after all of us are gone for that matter... he has expressed the desire to join with you and Hermione, not as a pet, but as a familiar of sorts. He will largely wander alone, but if you ever need him, he will come to you, and if he needs you, he will call."

Harry simply stared at his headmaster, then the phoenix, not really sure what to say to that. For a phoenix to choose to be a familiar was extremely rare, and a notable privilege. He turned to Hermione, but from her expression knew he needn't ask, and simply turned to Fawkes, nodding softly.

"Of course, we'd be thrilled to have you with us, Fawkes, though I don't know that we'd be the best people for you to be with."

Fawkes trilled softly, but with some measure of insistence, making Dumbledore chuckle slightly before coughing, evidently amused by the exchange.

"I rather suspect Fawkes will not tolerate you talking of yourselves in that fashion, Harry. A phoenix is a tremendously powerful creature, and with the wisdom to match their years. As I have learned from many a nip to the hand, they keep their own counsel, and once a decision is made, it is final. In a way, you don't have much of a choice."

Fawkes trilled again, with even more indignation, and batted Dumbledore's arm softly with his wing, clicking his beak. This only made Dumbledore laugh again, though it sounded painful for him to do so.

"Ah, as easy to tease as ever, I see. The three of you will get along just fine, I think, but be sure to be polite to Hedwig, Fawkes. I rather suspect she will not appreciate you monopolising her master too frequently."

Fawkes simply turned his head away, indicating his evident disdain for the snowy owl's jealously, and even Harry and Hermione chuckled this time. It helped ease the tension in the room, but even so, Harry felt awful, and fell into silence for a few moments. After a deep breath, Dumbledore sighed.

"Well I think, with that, there's little more to be said. I am extremely tired, more tired than I can describe, and have been ready for the next journey for a long, long time. I hope you can forgive me Harry, so soon after Horace..."

Harry shook his head, reaching forward to grasp Dumbledore's hand gently for a moment.

"We both knew this was coming, and as you said yourself: death is the one certainty of life. I won't pretend I don't wish this wasn't happening, but it can't be avoided forever, and we will meet again."

Dumbledore, eyes shut now, smiled slightly at that and nodded.

"As to that, you are quite right. I just...I only hope that I can be forgiven."

His eyelids tightened slightly, and Hermione reached forward too to clasp their hands in her own. They said nothing, choosing to let the headmaster say whatever he felt he wanted to. Fawkes hopped up closer to Dumbledore's head, gazing down at him softly.

"I have made many mistakes Harry, so many mistakes. I have had a long life, and naturally, my list of failures matches that, but even with that taken into account...I have done things, long ago, that I am not proud of, and things even since then...I think of people I could have helped, could have protected. Your mother and father, the families of so many students, my own family..."

Dumbledore's eyes tightened further, and his grip on Harry and Hermione's hand tightened considerably. Fawkes trilled softly, nuzzling his head against the headmaster's as Dumbledore spoke again.

"The only thing I fear, Harry, is I will go to meet them and find their eyes cold, their arms folded, their backs turned from me. And the worst part of that is I would have deserved it. I have failed so many times."

Harry could say nothing, he didn't know what to say, and as Fawkes trilled again, clearly comforting the headmaster, it was Hermione who, to his surprise, spoke.

"Perhaps you have headmaster, we all have mistakes we wish we could undo, but you forget the rest. You forget that you have done more to bring about the end of not just one but two of the darkest wizards ever to live than almost anyone else in your lifetime. Without you, Harry would never have survived, and quite possibly, muggleborns like me wouldn't have survived either. It doesn't matter what failures you've been responsible for, the mistakes you've made, because in the end, you devoted yourself to doing all you could to make yourself a better person. I don't know what you'll find, but I know it will be what you deserve. You have nothing to fear."

Fawkes trilled again, louder, and sent what was plainly an approving look at Hermione, before nuzzling again to the side of the headmaster's head as Dumbledore's eyes opened again, misty, but alert, and he smiled widely at Hermione, then Harry and Fawkes.

"Thank you, it means more to me to hear that than you know. Especially from the two of you."

He closed his eyes again and they fell into silence. After a few minutes, the headmaster's breathing slowed, and Harry knew the end was almost on them. He reached up and placed his hand on the headmaster's forehead, gently brushing aside his hair and removing his glasses, and spoke what he knew would be his final words to his mentor, and his friend.

"We'll be apart many years, but we'll all be together again. Until then, please tell my mum and dad I miss them, and that they owe you so much. Oh, and kick Horace for me for being so damned noble."

Harry didn't expect an answer and Dumbledore gave none, but as the headmaster's breathing finally stopped and Fawkes look into Harry's eyes sadly, Harry felt Fawkes speak to him, could sense the meaning even though Fawkes used no words, and the message was clear.

They already know.

Then, the room fell silent. Harry released the headmaster's hand and slumped back into his chair, unable to speak, not knowing what to do. The events of the last twenty four hours hit him at last, and the pain of the losses, and of all the losses to get to this point, swept over him and he simply dropped his head, beyond even the point of tears. Hermione was plainly in the same state, as she simply moved across into Harry's arms, and they held each other, unable to feel anything but grief.

He didn't know how long they'd been there, but he felt a warmth envelop him and Hermione and as he opened his eyes, found that Fawkes had spread his wings and folded them around the two of them in the chair. He didn't question the gesture, or how the phoenix had suddenly grown in size, he simply melted into the feeling and remained quiet until, at last, he felt able to speak again.

"Fawkes."

The phoenix moved away from them and looked into his eyes intently, and Harry simply knew, instinctively, the phoenix would understand whatever he wanted him to hear.

"Please let Professor McGonagall into the study, she'll need to arrange the...funeral."

Fawkes simply look at him, and Harry felt the understanding wash into his mind as, with a whirl of flame, he vanished. Harry looked down at Hermione, who was still buried into his chest, and brushed the top of her head softly just as she loved him to do. After a few moments, she looked up at him.

"It's over."

Two words, spoken bluntly, and finally, he felt they really were true. Hermione nodded at him, eyes still red, before drawing herself up and meeting his lips softly, her warm breath bringing life back into his body as they embraced for a few moments, before pulling apart.

"What do you want to do now?"

Harry said nothing, looking for a final time at the headmaster's now peaceful form, and simply looked back at her before giving a small smile, and the warmest one he could manage.

"I was going to ask you that. The summer's coming up soon, once...once we've laid the headmaster-our friend, to rest. There's really no reason left for me to go back to the Dursleys."

He saw the fire light her eyes briefly at the mention of the hated name, and giving a brief glance at their friend's body she looked back at him, with her own small smile.

"Then we do what he would have wanted; we do what we want to do. And you are coming back home with me this summer, no excuses!"

Harry smiled, having expected no less, and hugged her tightly, expressing in his touch what his words never could. They would do what they had always wanted: they would live, they'd be with their friends, and, one day and with a little luck, be a family.

Family.

And that, right there, was the word that meant the most to Harry Potter and as he stood, Hermione bonded to his side where he knew she'd always be, he understood, completely, that to Harry Potter, it was family that defined him.