It's time you pick your battle and I promise you this is mine

Another summer - Reprise

When the end of the school year, and with it the NEWTs, approached, Harry thought it was probably the best he has ever been prepared for an exam in his time at Hogwarts.
Draco had started joining the Gryffindor's in the library a few weeks beforehand and while Ron and him still did not like each other, Harry was happy to see them starting to warm up to each other. And Hermione, although not forgiving Draco for his actions of the past has very much taken a liking to having somebody in their group that values knowledge as much as herself, making her open to conversating with him even outside of revisions. At first, that happened very much to the dislike of Ron but as he started to open up to Draco himself, he also opened up to the idea of Hermione having intellectual conversations with the Slytherin without feeling threatened.
All of them passed their NEWTs when the time came, even better than any of them could have hoped to pass while the war was still going on. Both Luna and Ginny eyed their friends jealously when coming out of their examination rooms.
The summer, Harry spent again at the Weasley's while Hermione went home to her parents' muggle home, for the first time without having to worry about what happened in the Wizarding World while she was away. She promised to visit them though, before starting her training at the ministry that Kingsley Shacklebolt talked her into.
Harry spent much time at Andromeda's again, although not as much as the year before, considering he had both Ron and Ginny at the burrow now, as Ron was home and George and Percy had moved out of their parents' house again.
"Have you told your mom about the possibility of you taking over Potions yet?", Harry asked Draco one of the times they met at Andromeda's.
"I'm still waiting for the results", the other boy admitted, "I want to be sure before I tell her. If I'm not able to, I might take my aunt up on her idea. See the world a little."
Harry nodded, although doubting that it would come to that. He did not notice McGonagall being dissatisfied with him. As he did not have definite proof of it, he decided to keep silent anyway.
After their results came and Hermione finally showed up at the burrow, to all of the younger inhabitants' joy, Ginny started to talk about organizing a party. Luna and her had apparently been talking about it for a while now, they had even gotten Neville's affirmative answer of his presence were they deciding to go through with it.
The trio shared a look when Ginny brought it up at the dinner table, realizing another part of a normal youth that the war had taken from them but being open to trying it out, making the next two weeks being spent with party planning, all of them very glad they had started so soon, as most of the shops selling party supplies had still not reopened after the war. Ginny and Ron ended up ordering at their brothers', making them vow not to add too many joke articles ("That is all we sell!", George had exclaimed indignantly, before being reminded that they had always sold more than that and hence unwillingly agreeing to it).
Molly and Arthur had agreed to let them use their garden for the party, and their children, in their excitement, proceeded to invite their whole acquaintance, figuring they could all need a little fun, the older ones especially before starting their jobs and consequently real adult life a short time after.
On a whim, Harry invited Draco, who surprisingly accepted, and although making Ron sigh initially, he only acknowledged it with a shrug and a muttered "Why not?".
The rest of their friends were not as used to spending time with Draco as Ron and Hermione were and therefore a little wary of him. Unsurprisingly, they did not warm up to him during the evening but at least tried not to be overtly hostile, some even talking to him neutrally, asking him about his NEWT results and plans for the future, which both Harry and Draco counted as a success, sharing a smile over it.
"Hermione and I are thinking about getting an apartment together", Ron announced a few nights later, him and Harry lying in their beds in Ron's room.
"That's cool", Harry replied.
"I'll stay at the burrow until you start to work but as you'll be spending most of your time in Hogwarts anyway, we figured why not take an apartment together. Move out of our parents' homes."
Harry turned to smile at his best friend. "I'm happy for you two. Expect me to visit though."
Ron grinned back "Both of us are expecting letters too. And feel free to tell me how often you have to give my sister detention."
Harry laughed about that.
"It will be weird to teach the people I know", Harry added more solemnly and silently.
"Nah", Ronn assured him. "Remember the DA was also people you knew who were around your age? You got that. We learned a lot and so will them."
"Thanks, mate." A few minutes later both their breaths have evened out, the two of them in peaceful slumber.