Three is Company

There was no denying that Harry, Hermione, and Ron were meant to be together, in every possible way. Something inside Harry always clicked into place when he was with Hermione and Ron, and he felt whole. It was that same something that broke inside of Ron and Hermione when they saw Hagrid walking back onto Hogwarts grounds with the seemingly lifeless body of Harry in his arms, causing the two friends to feel a physical pain in their chests, as if a hole had been punched straight through them. Then when Harry was proved to be alive, it was like the whole world narrowed down to a single point, and the only thing that mattered anymore was the three friends being united again.

After Harry finally defeated Voldemort for good, the world was still for a small moment. There were no sounds, and no movement, as if time had been frozen. The moment did not last for long though. It was broken as Harry himself let out an ear shattering, gut wrenching scream that didn’t even sound fully human. Ron and Hermione quickly rushed to him, catching him in their arms just as he started to fall over. Ron held the bulk of Harry’s weight as he and Hermione lowered Harry to the ground, landing with very little grace. Even after Harry had fallen silent, the golden trio stayed where they were, sitting in the rubble of the school they all once called home, holding each other tight as they cried.

Everyone lost a lot during the war, but a solid argument could be made that Harry lost the most. He never got the chance to be a kid, and grow up happy with a loving family. Going to Hogwarts when he was eleven was the first sign of hope that things could be better that Harry had found in a long, long time. Even when something went horribly wrong every year, it wasn’t until his sixth year that Harry started to lose faith in his beloved school too. Harry could honestly say that throughout everything that happened there were two places that never failed to make him feel completely safe, loved, and at home. Wherever he was with Ron, and Hermione.

Neither of the three kids was really aware of how much time passed before Molly and Arthur Weasley came over and gently lifted the kids off of the ground. Harry refused to let go of his friends though, holding onto one of Hermione’s hands, and gripping the sleeve of Ron’s shirt like his life depended on it, though neither friend seemed to mind.

“Let’s get you kids home.” Molly said gently. Ginny, Fred, and George were right there too, all looking a little worse for the ware. Fred had been badly injured, and was leaning heavily on George for support. It almost looked like the whole right side of his body was singed or bloody. Some minor healing spells had been quickly cast on him, but he would still need further attention and rest to fully heal.

Harry was ashamed to admit, even to himself, that seeing the Weasley family standing there was the first time he considered the other people that were still there. Harry looked around, seeing how the more able bodied people began to carry injured people towards the castle so they could receive attention from Madam Pomphrey, as well as a few other students. There were also quite a few teachers, and students who were running around and gathering the bodies of everyone they could find. Groups of friends were huddled together crying, while a handful of teachers ran around frantically trying to figure out the next best course of action. There were a few faces in particular that Harry was looking for, and he knew he couldn’t leave until he found them all.

“I can’t leave yet.” Harry told Molly, causing her to look at him in surprise. “I’ve got to find some people and make sure they’re ok.”

“We’ll come with you.” Hermione said, gently squeezing Harry’s hand.

“Why don’t you take the others back home. I’ll stay here until they’re ready to leave.” Molly said to Arthur, but Harry didn’t pay attention to much else after that. He had spotted Neville and Luna in the distance, and beelined for them, Ron and Hermione still at his sides.

“Are you guys ok?” Harry asked as soon as they reached the two friends.

“We’ll be alright.” Luna answered. She had her wand out, and was working on healing some of the burns on Neville’s head. Voldemort had used a binding spell on Neville, and then put the sorting hat on his head and lit it on fire, causing Neville to get burnt pretty badly in the process.

“I don’t know how to thank you for all your help.” Harry told his friends.

“You don’t need to thank us. You three are the ones who saved the world after all. Telling Voldemort to fuck off was the least I could do.” Neville said with a crooked grin, causing the others to chuckle. The golden trio all exchanged hugs with Neville and Luna before continuing on to try and find a few other friends.

The next person Harry noticed was Draco. He was being shuffled off by both of his parents as they began to leave school grounds. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all ran to catch up with them, especially after Harry told them that he really needed to talk to Draco especially. Neither of the Malfoys seemed like they knew how to react when they were stopped by the trio, and for a moment, they all just stared at each other in silence. Then, Harry did something that surprised all of them, himself included, and pulled Draco into a hug. Draco stiffened in Harry’s hold, and Harry stiffened too, but still didn’t let go for a little while.

“I’m sorry Draco. For everything.” Harry said eventually, pulling back. Draco looked even more shocked at the apology than he did at the hug.

“I’m the one who should be sorry.” Draco said eventually. “I’ve been…a horrible person.”

“I haven’t been much better to you. I understand what you were going through better now.” Harry glanced over Draco’s shoulder at Lucious, and glared at him. Lucious looked like he was practically a walking skeleton. Though Malfoy didn’t look much better.

“I’ll make sure things change for you and Narcissa.” Harry assured, not being subtle about what he meant. Lucious would be going back to Azkaban, for life this time.

“Thank you Harry. For everything.” Draco said, and Harry smiled softly at him. The Malfoys continued off the grounds so they could aparate away, while Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked back to the castle. Harry filled them in on the conversation he had with Narcissa after Voldemort hit him with the killing curse again, and how she was the only reason he was still alive. How lucky Harry was to be protected by a mother’s love both times he found himself on the receiving end of one of Voldemort's life ending spells.

By the time they got back to the castle, it seemed like the majority of the living people were all outside of the castle. Harry scanned the crowds, looking for Sirius and Remus, and becoming more and more panicked when he couldn’t find them.

“I don’t see them, what if they didn’t make it?” Harry asked frantically.

“Don’t worry, we’ll find them.” Ron assured, following closely as Harry ran back into the castle. They weren’t looking inside for very long before Sirius came stumbling out of the rubble, covered in dust. Harry rushed to him and hugged him close, glad that his godfather was still alive. Sirius hugged Harry just as tightly as Harry cried into his shoulder.

“Have you seen Moony yet?” Sirius asked, and Harry shook his head, causing Sirius to look heart broken.

“I’m sure he’s around here somewhere.” Hermione said, her tone laced with worry too.

“We haven’t checked the great hall yet.” Ron suggested. The great hall is where all the bodies were being laid down for the time being.

Harry absolutely did not want to go into the great hall. Not only was he unsure whether or not he could handle it if he walked in there and saw Remus’s body lying still on the floor, but he also didn’t want to see the bodies of all of his other classmates and teachers who died. However, if Remus was in there, then Harry had to know. Harry grabbed onto Ron and Sirius’s hands, holding both tightly. A cold chill ran through him as they approached the great hall, and held his breath as they walked in.

Harry looked around a bit, and when his eyes landed on little Colin Creevy, he couldn’t take it any longer. Harry shut his eyes tight, trusting his friends to lead him around. Harry heard Sirius let out a relieved sigh, and he started to quickly pull Harry and the others as he rushed to where he saw Remus kneeling on the floor. When Sirius dropped to the ground at Remus’s side, the three kids dropped down too. Before looking at anything else, Harry hugged Remus, glad he was still alive, but Remus seemed unresponsive.

“Professor?” Hermione asked softly, trying to get Remus’s attention.

“I wasn’t able to save her.” Remus muttered in response. Harry finally opened his eyes again and looked down at the body of Tonks right in front of them. Harry didn’t know that she was even there for the battle, having assumed that she stayed back to take care of the new born baby that her and Remus just had not a month before.

“Where is Teddy?” Harry asked, the baby being the first thing to come to mind.

“With Nymphadora’s parents. I tried to tell her that she needed to stay back with him, but she refused. I should have found a way to make her stay. It’s my fault she’s gone. What are Teddy and I gonna do?” Remus asked, his voice breaking as he began to cry.

“You’re going to move in with me.” Sirius said firmly. “I have plenty of room for you two, and I’ll help you out.”

Sirius stood, bringing Remus up with him. Harry, Hermione, and Ron stood too, and Harry once again closed his eyes tightly, and grabbed onto Ron’s arm, tucking his face into Ron’s shoulder as the other boy led him safely out of the great hall.

“I’m ready to go home now.” Harry said softly. “Wherever that is now.”

“Don’t be stupid Harry.” Ron said, sounding almost offended. “You’re both coming back to my house with me, where we’re going to expand my bed, and then we’re all going to sleep.”

Harry couldn’t deny that Ron’s plan sounded amazing. All three of them were exhausted. The kind of exhaustion that they could feel in their bones, that can only be reached from months of traveling the world and going hungry while they searched for bits of an evil war lord’s soul. Not to mention, the Burrow had always been an incredibly welcoming place, and Harry thought of the Weasley’s as his own family. Plus, neither of the three friends wanted to let go of one another. They had come too close to losing each other far too many times, so when it was finally all over, they were determined to keep each other close.

Molly was glad to bring the kids back to the burrow, and no one protested when they immediately made their way to Ron’s room. Ron used his wand to expand his bed, just like he said, and then he immediately laid in the middle of it, not even bothering to take off his shoes first. Harry soon joined him, and curled into his side, Ron wrapping an arm around him without hesitation. Hermione at least took her shoes off before curling into Ron’s other side, and grabbing onto one of Harry’s hands, their joined hands resting on Ron’s chest.

It wasn’t long before all three kids fell asleep, and for the first time in a long, long time, they truly rested.