After the Battle

Back at Hogwarts

Hermione entered the Great Hall with Neville...

The Sorting took place and the feast began.

"Hermione. Have you found out?" Asked Ernie Macmillan as he came over to the Table.

"Found out what?" Hermione asked.

"Dumbledore's Army is still on! It's officially allowed. Let's just all head to the Room of Requirement and officially restart it!" He suggested.

"I don't know if that Room works. It was destroyed... and I don't know where it is."

"Oh." Ernie's face fell. "Who could know?"

"A house elf, perhaps...  Winky!"
Hermione exclaimed.

"What?" Asked Ernie, confused.

"Follow me." Said Hermione and Ernie followed her out of the Hall.

"Winky!" Hermione called and an elf appeared with a faint 'pop'.

"Winky, do you know where the Room of Requirement is? Is it still working?"

"The Room is on the 3rd floor beside the Arithmancy classroom,Miss . It's still working, Miss." Winky the elf squeaked.

Hermione thanked the elf and it disappeared.

Neville, Ginny, Luna, Ernie and Hermione were in the Room.
"Have you informed everyone?" Asked Hermione.

Neville answered. "Yeah. Susan Bones, Justin Finch Fletchey, Hannah Abott, Zacharias Smith, Michael Corner, Cho Chang, Parvati Patil, Padma Patil and Seamus Finnigan. They'll be here if they want. "

And surely, 5 minutes later. The door opened. "Susan, Justin and Hannah entered.

"We can start it again? Cool." Said Justin as the door opened once again and Cho entered.

"So Harry hasn't come back?" She asked as sat down on the cushion.

"No. He's an Auror." Hermione smiled. Cho just nodded.

Soon, the Patil twins arrived, followed by Seamus. And then Michael walked in with Zacharias.

"Good. So now that everyone's here, I have to announce that we are restarting the group... and we have to choose a leader." Hermione said.

"You, of course." Said Ernie. "You're a clever witch and you were on the run with Harry Potter. You escaped You-Know-Who in Godric's Hollow and Malfoy Manor. You broke into the Ministry and Gringotts..."

"I say, Hermione and Neville can be leaders." Said Hannah. "Neville was the leader while you were gone and he was a good leader. And he killed You-Know-Who's snake, Nagini."

"Yeah. I agree. Neville and Hermione." Said Cho.

Everyone else nodded in agreement and it was decided.
"Good. Now, the first meeting is tomorrow, okay? We'll have them weekly."

And the D.A was started again.

That night, Hermione wrote a letter to Ron.

Dear Ron.
It's been amazing at Hogwarts but it's boring without the two of you.
The D.A has been restarted as an official club. Neville and I are the leaders.
I really hope everything's fine. Do remember to check on my parents, okay?
I'll write you a longer letter when something interesting happens.
Take care,
Hermione.

The next morning, she went to Charms class.

"Ms.Granger!" Professor Flitwick exclaimed. "You're back!"

After that warm welcome, she had been made to tell them the whole story. She had told but skipped the Horcrux part. No one else realised the plot holes in the story except Neville and Flitwick.

As the class left, he stopped her. "Something was missing from the story, Ms.Granger." He said.

Hermione bit her lip and asked. "What?"

"Why were you not hiding at one place? Why did you break into Gringotts and the Ministry? You were looking for something, no? "

She bit her lip. "Yes, sir. We were looking for his Horcruxes."

He stared at her, horrified. "How many Hocruxes were there? And what were they?"

"He made seven Horcruxes. Riddle's Diary, Slytherin's locket,
Marvolo Gaunt's ring, Hufflepuff's Cup, Ravenclaw's diadem, his snake and... Harry."

Flitwick stared at her. "So that... that's why Harry didn't die? And that's why he wanted the diadem? And that's why Neville killed the snake?" He asked in a hushed whisper.

"Yes. Sir, please don't share this information with someone else. It shan't be common knowledge
, please."

"Of course, Ms. Granger. The secret remains with me. Could you tell me who destroyed these Horcruxes?" He said the word, Horcruxes with much disgust.

"Harry destroyed Riddle's diary with a Basilisk Fang. Dumbledore destroyed the Ring with the sword of Gryffindor that had been impregnated with Basilisk Venom. Ron destroyed the locket with the sword. I destroyed the Cup with a Basilisk Fang from the Chamber of Secrets. Neville killed the snake with the sword. We destroyed the diadem with Fiendfyre. Voldemort himself killed the Horcrux in Harry. And then, he was a mortal and his spell backfired and he died."

Professor Flitwick spluttered and mumbled for moment, then said, "Thank you for telling me. No other soul shall know. 50 points to Gryffindor for bravery! You can go, now. Free period's almost ended."

Amused, Hermione left the classroom. And there stood Neville. His pale face told that he'd heard. Everything.

"N... Neville!"

Neville frowned at her. "Harry didn't tell me it was a Horcrux." Then he grinned, "Holy Crickets! I destroyed a part of Voldemort's soul!"

Hermione smiled. "I know, right! It's a very... strangely satisfying feeling! Well, I'm glad you said his name."

"Yeah. I'm not afraid of him... not anymore... Let's go or we'll be late for Transfiguration."

And they walked to Transfiguration.

Meanwhile, in the Auror Office.
Arianna sat on her desk, reading a couple of letters when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." She said and Ron entered.

"Good morning, Ron! How can I help you?"

He hesitated, "I...Er... I wanted to ask you something."

She removed her spectacles, pit aside the letter and clasped her hands in front of her. "Sit down and ask away, then!"

He sat down on the seat and asked, "Can the dead hear us?"

She looked taken aback. "What?
Only the dead can know. I, of course, am not dead and do not know about the next stage... Why are you asking me?"

"You were talking to Sirius and Remus that day..."

She furrowed her eyebrows and pursed her lips. "Hmm... you heard me... I have a belief that the those who we love are always there with us. They are a part of us. I don't know if they can really hear us but I do know that the part in us can... I talk to them every night. Tell them about my day. Discuss my worries and find the solutions. It's a crazy habit but damn helpful..."

Ron nodded.

"Ron. Please don't tell anyone. They'll think I'm crazy. Maybe I am..." She shrugged.

Ron smiled. "No. You're not crazy."

Arianna smiled. Ron got up and left and she started reading the letter again.

But her attention was diverted.
She put the letter away and got up. She knew where to go.