After the War

Chapter 19

With a heavy sigh of relief, Harry stepped out onto the faded floral printed carpet of the Gryffindor Common Room. The stone walls were still covered in portraits or cupboards and the furniture still sagged in all the right places. The best thing about the familiar room, though, was the distinct lack of people. No Mrs. Weasley to urge him to eat more. No Ginny to keep asking questions that he didn't want to answer. No George to try and relate to him when Harry had been through so much more than he could imagine, Harry thought bitterly to himself.

After touring through his old dormitory and relishing in each nook and cranny of the Common Room, Harry slipped out, not bothering with the invisibility cloak since he expected the castle to be fairly empty in the middle of July. And fortunately, it was. He strolled through the quiet halls and corridors, along the secret ones and the popular ones, appreciating the fixed architecture and subtle differences he noticed. He crossed paths with a few house elves who were out cleaning during the day, which was an odd sight, but he walked quickly by before they could talk or question him.

As a humming Professor Albright appeared around the corner on the third floor, Harry hurried into a hidden closet behind a portrait and listened carefully for the sound of receding footsteps before he continued on his way. Thankfully, his knowledge of the trick steps and hidden passages had not left him yet and Harry slowly made his way to his ultimate destination without incident.

On the second floor, he stood in front of the now fixed griffin statue guarding the spiral staircase to the Headmistress's office. It was here that he realized a fatal flaw to his plan: he did not know McGonagall's password.

"Er... can I go up?" He asked the griffin cautiously, but expecting no movement. The only reason it had worked last time was because it was laying on its side and was utterly helpless.

The griffin's eyes squinted at him in the smallest of movements. "Name?" It finally asked in a gravelly voice.

"Harry Potter," he responded curiously.

"Harry Potter," he repeated faintly. "And when was the last time you were here, Potter?"

"Er... A day or two after the second of May?"

"Very well," the griffin spun on its dias to reveal the hidden staircase. Harry climbed onto the step as it moved up, deciding not to question what had just happened. He knocked at the large door that waited for him at the top and heard a faint response allowing his entry.

"Hello, Harry," McGonagall greeted in surprise. She was seated at her desk, but stood abruptly when he walked in.

"Hi Minnie." Even in his sour mood, he couldn't help but use the new nickname she had provided him with.

"Oh, how I regret telling you that." Although the small smile on her thin lips said otherwise. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought you said I could come to Hogwarts whenever I wanted?" he teased lightly as he walked up the two small steps towards the desk.

"Of course you are, but that doesn't answer my question."

"Can't I just be here to see you?"

"Sure, but I doubt that's the truth."

"Well, it's the partial truth."

"How about the whole truth, then?"

"That and to ask if I can use your pensieve to see Remus' old memories he left me."

"And there's the truth." She smiled at him warmly and quickly grabbed some sheets of paper that were piled on her desk. "Lucky for you, I was about to go talk to some of the professors so I suppose the office is all yours."