After the War

Chapter 39

Thursday, March 7

Harry took a deep breath in with his eyes shut, taking in the redolent smell of ink and parchment, the empty space surrounding him, and most importantly, the quiet that echoed against the stone walls. He opened his eyes to see the familiar circular office at Hogwarts with its familiar shelves, wooden desk, and the peaceful photos spread around the room. He couldn't help but smile at the most prominent addition to his small collection of frames. It was a muggle photo that Hermione had snapped over the last holiday break that Harry had just gotten around to printing: he was seated on the arm of a plush chair in the Burrow with Ginny in the cushioned seat. Her head was thrown back in laughter, her smile lighting up the frame and her freckles dancing in the flickering firelight. Of course, it wasn't as good as the photo that Dennis had snapped of them at Valentine's Day, but that picture was saved for his bedside table at Grimmauld Place to wake up to.

He sank into the chair behind his desk and leaned back, determined to appreciate every aspect of the quiet-shrouded room. This past week had been quite hectic and Monday seemed like a month ago rather than just a few days.

After the successful mission where the aurors captured six more Death Eaters, Harry and Ron had checked in with Bowel at the hospital and left only after the healers had ensured that he would make a full recovery in no time. The next day was filled with a press conference that stretched on for hours and deprived both Ron and Harry of hours needed to fill out paperwork, hours that they were forced to finish at night after dinner. With the following day came the beginning of the process to organize the trials for each Death Eater, where they would be detained until their trials could take place, and who would be overseeing the questions and details of each process. Plus, George had filled Grimmauld Place with nonstop ear-splitting screeching that he called 'singing' as he tried to find the perfect rhymes to make a jingle for the shop.

All in all, Harry was very glad to have a moment of solitude and silence.

Even if it was for just a moment. Because he still had work to do.

His Ministry job had been taking up most of his every waking thought for the past few days and he had had absolutely no time to spare a passing thought to his Hogwarts job. So, he still had four classes of exams to grade along with two classes of homework assignments.

He grabbed onto the underside of the desk and pulled his chair closer to the tabletop. He grabbed at the first stack of exams and pulled them forward, eyeing the clock dolefully. Right about now, students would be flocking to the Great Hall for breakfast and Harry should have been enjoying his own meal before heading to the floo network. Instead, he had forced himself to leave much earlier than usual so that he could finish at least one stack of papers before class. So, he settled in for the next hour or so, twirling a red ballpoint pen idly in one hand as he skimmed paper after paper.

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Three quarters of the way through his first stack, Harry removed his glasses and rubbed the sleep from his eyes but he couldn't stifle the yawn from escaping. He shook his head and replaced his glasses. Grading papers and general lack of sound sleep were not helping him stay awake. But, perhaps a freshly brewed cup of coffee would.

With that in mind, Harry left his quiet sanctuary of his office and made his way to the door of the classroom. He pulled open the door and entered the growing chaos made up of a sea of students either leisurely walking to class, talking with friends, or hurrying to the Great Hall for a rushed and late breakfast. Harry walked briskly through the crowds with a few nods to students who glanced his way and couldn't help but notice that the only thing differentiating him from the students was a lack of a Hogwarts school robe.