Begin Again

Prologue

Harry walked around aimlessly through the crumbling corridors of Hogwarts. Blood trickled down his forehead, dirt covering his face, dirty shaking hands clutching his wand as if he were expecting death eaters to show up out of nowhere.

The war was over.

They won.

He had killed Voldemort not along ago yet Harry didn't feel relieved. He felt guilt and anguish.

He knew everyone was in the Great Hall, mourning their loved ones or healing their own injuries. Maybe both. But he didn't want to go there yet.

Last time he entered the Great Hall was a couple of hours ago. The first thing he saw was a family of redheads crying over three dead bodies. Fred, George and Arthur Weasley.

But they weren't the only ones who had lost their lives. His godmother, Lily Evans, and Luke's godfather, Remus Lupin, laid completely still. Their hands reaching for one another, even in death.

The dead bodies of Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, Colin Creevey, Lavender Brown, Padma and Pavarti Patil, Oliver Wood, Luna Lovegood, Nymphadora Tonks, Hagrid, Cho Chang, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and many more flash through his mind causing him to cover his eyes and hold back a sob.

Without realizing he had walked straight to Dumbledore's office. He stares at the gargoyle statue, trying to figure out what led him there.

"Harry?" a soft voice calls out behind him.

He quickly turns towards them while pointing his wand at their direction. Ready to fight anyone who tries to attack him.

"It's just us." Hermione softly says, holding her hands up while slowly walking towards him.

Harry relaxes and lowers his wand at the sight of Luke, Ron and Hermione.

"What are you doing here?" Ron asks.

"I don't know." he replies while slightly shaking his head in confusion. "I just ended up here for some reason."

At that, the gargoyle statue starts to move making a staircase appear leading straight to a door that will open Dumbledore's office.

"We should probably go. We need to heal your injuries, Harry." his younger brother states with a worried look on his face.

The door creaks open before any of them can move or say another word. Light footsteps can be heard coming down the stairs causing all four teenagers to raise their wands.

They didn't want to admit it but they were scared. They didn't know what to expect. Was it a death eater, was it a professor, was it someone trying to steal things while everyone else was preoccupied by other important matters? They had just fought and defeated the most powerful dark wizard of all time, they didn't want to fight anymore.

What none of them expected was for a woman who looked to be in her mid to late sixties to stand in front of them at the end of the staircase.

She had silver blonde hair that almost reached her waist. She wasn't short but she wasn't tall. She had several wrinkles on her forehead and around her mouth that depicted her age but nothing showed her age more than her eyes. Her blue eyes showed so much hidden pain and anguish as if they were a colored glass painting that would crack at any moment.

No one said anything. They didn't know what to say to the woman standing in front of them. She was an elderly woman, who didn't look to be a threat, unbothered by the fact that four people were pointing their wands at her.

"Follow me." She states before turning around and walking back up the staircase.

They share uneasy and concerned looks between one another before Harry moves forward and walks up the stairs. The other three teenagers reluctantly follow after him.